A 6th Shell Rising
by StrangeKid1998
Summary: A single knock on the door and a family of five injured, giant, ninja turtles-named Leonardo, Raphael, Venus de Milo, Donatello, and Michelangelo-changed Jessie's summer, and life, forever. This takes place in the 2014 movie universe.
1. Prologue

Some people might say that they have the biggest secret in the world. Some might say that nobody understands them. Some may even say that they're freaks of nature. Well, I have them beat. By a long shot. I _was_ a normal kid living a normal life until one summer night… I met them. This is the story of how everything in my life was turned around and flipped upside down. You might think that it was a bad thing, but I believe it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.


	2. Chapter 1: Unusual Guests

Against everything that I'd been told, I had to let them in. I knew that I'd probably get chewed out, grounded for life, and never see my phone again, and the fact that I was home alone at night wouldn't help my situation, but I had to.

They scared me at first, to the point of screaming and slamming the door in their faces. But seeing anything like them in that condition and not doing anything about it, my heart would never forgive me. There were three of them, each wearing a different colored mask around their heads and eyes with long ends that draped over their shoulders: blue, red, and orange.

These _creatures_ stood anywhere from, my guess, 6'4" to 6'7" with an easy four hundred pounds of muscle each, they looked like humanoid giant turtles who completely filled the doorway. There were huge turtle-like shells on their backs and plastrons on their chests and stomachs complete with thick, green skin along with three digits on each hand. They were obviously not stupid and you could see that by just looking at their faces and in their eyes, intelligence that you could only see in a human's face.

But they were hurt. Blood and bruises covered their bodies with the occasional throwing star or dart, sometimes _both_ , sticking out of an arm or leg with blood oozing out of the wound. The one with the orange mask was unconscious and heavily draped in between the two others. There were numerous stars in its shell and a huge bruising lump on its hung head; I looked in between the orange one and the two others with concern and fear. I stood there nervously as the red and blue ones pinned me on the spot with their pleading stares.

"Will you please help us?" The blue one asked, making my heart almost skip a beat.

 _They can talk?_ I thought with shock.

"Huh-?" I squeaked quietly.

"Can you help us?" It repeated. It was obviously male due to the tone of his voice which sounded like a young man's voice- not too deep, but not squeaky like a tween's. I stood there for a moment as I tried to get my brain back into gear from the question I was just asked.

"Oh-uh-yeah, yeah, come in." I blinked and opened up the door to let them squeeze in. They were broad to begin with and having a third in the middle made it a tight fit through the door for them. They then shuffled through the door that opened up into the kitchen and lightly bumped the orange one's head on the door frame.

"Watch it, Raph!" The blue one whispered tensely through his teeth at the red one. "His head's already bruised enough."

"Well, I'm not the only one who's carrying him." The red one quietly growled back. Ignoring the angry, little conversation, I edged past them and directed them across the kitchen to the living room and turned on the lamp next to the couch.

"You can lay him down on the floor." I said as I pulled a pillow from the couch and placed it on the floor for the orange one's head. They came around me to lay him down then I saw three stars sticking out of his shell. "Wait, shouldn't we take those out before you put him down?" I asked and glanced up at them uncertainly.

"She has a point." The red one said and looked at the blue one with a serious face. His voice was a little deeper and rougher than the other's and had a small Yankee twang to it, like he'd grown up near the New England states. The blue one glanced at me then nodded at the red one in agreement. They situated the unconscious one's legs to be out in front of him and bent down to sit him up right on the ground. I came around to the front of the orange one to keep him upright and from falling backwards when they let go of his arms.

"All right Miss, do you have him?" The blue one squatted down and asked before he let go of the orange one's right arm. I nodded timidly, still freaked out by what I just let into my house. This was the first actual time that I could actually get a good look at the blue one's face and it wasn't scary. His face was tired and dirty, but his royal blue eyes were kind and sincere. He had a square-set jaw that gave him an air of authority but not extreme intimidation, lips, nostrils instead of a nose which was a trait that they all shared, and there were scars on his cheek and above his brow that looked like his face had been cut by some kind of blade. When he let go, I was pushed back a little due to the underestimated weight of him, but I fixed it so that his big shoulder rested against my body along with some support of my arms.

"Are you sure?" He asked when he saw my temporary struggle.

"Mm-hm." I nodded again. I watched the red one walk around to the back of the orange one and kneel down to study his shell.

"I may need a pair of pliers." He mumbled as he started to gently wiggle and tug at the stars.

When he was on his knees and bent over, the red one was eye level with me which gave me a chance to study his face. He was bigger and broader than both the orange and blue ones, _he_ was the intimidating one. His mask was a lot like the others' with exception that it covered the top of his head, the back of his thick neck, as well as around his eyes; his face was more angled and defined than the blue one's with a hard chin and jaw. He also had his share of scars— there was a faint scar on the right of his upper lip and a deeper one on the left and many more on his arms and shoulders. His eyes were a light green that could be as hard and cold as ice but there was the potential for warmth and possibly compassion to them, which was probably there once every blue moon judging by what I knew of personality so far.

"What?" He asked gruffly and glared at me when he caught me staring at him.

"Nothing," I said quietly and quickly looked away. "D-do you still think you need those pliers?" I asked, craning my neck to look over the orange one's shoulder and at his shell. There were some stars that were barely in it and then there were two that were almost half way buried into it.

"I think so." He looked back at the shell and pressed his lips together. "Can you go get them?" He asked and looked at me with kinder eyes.

"Yeah." I nodded and let our "patient" gently lean back on him as I got up to go and find a pair in one of the kitchen drawers. I stood up and turned around when I almost ran into the blue one. "Oh, excuse me." I lowered my head and went around him, trying not to make eye contact. I was still uncertain about them, but the longer they were there, the more curious I became. It's not every day that something like this shows up on your doorstep.

Going to the nearest kitchen junk drawer, I started rummaging and shuffling around for a pair of pliers that could possibly do the job. Pens, pencils, sticky notes, rubber bands, and tiny screw drivers were the only things in drawers number one and two and I finally found a pair in magical drawer number three that had a fat nose which would probably work. While I was in the kitchen, I heard the two quietly mumbling to each other, they were too quiet for me to figure out what they were talking about, but I _could_ hear tension and anger in the red one's voice and worry in the blue's. There was something more than just the three of them. As I shut the drawer, I grabbed the roll of paper towels and rushed back over to the living room with brewing questions.

"Here," I handed the red one the pliers, sat back down in front of the orange one and pulled him back towards me. "I brought the paper towels so that you could somewhat start cleaning _yourselves_ up." I set them on the floor and said meekly while glancing in between the two of them.

"Thanks." The blue one said as he picked them up, walked over, and sat down next to the red one as he began to play with one of the deeper wedged stars with the pliers.

"Wow," The red one sucked in. "That one's deep." He scowled at the star, clamped down on it and after a few wiggles, yanked it out of the shell with a grunt.

"Jeeze, that one's gonna have to be disinfected." The blue one cringed as he looked at the cut in the orange one's shell.

"Yeah, I'll take care of that one, but I think that's the worst of them." The red one sighed and studied the star that was in the pliers. "Nice shuriken." He commented with a nod and placed it down on the floor. He then went to the next star, which was in pretty deep as well and pulled it out with a little persuasion, the rest of the stars he just pulled out with his hands. "You can put him down now." He looked at me as he got up.

After he got up, I pulled the pillow closer to the orange one to where I thought his head would be. That was the easy part; laying him down would be the challenge, since he was basically a deadweight of four hundred pounds or more. I wriggled my arms up around his neck and gripped the top of his shell, stood up, and began straddle-walk him down. Then his weight caught up to me; I considered myself a sturdy and strong girl, but apparently I wasn't strong enough to lower him without completely dropping him. When the blue one saw me struggling, he jumped in and got behind the orange one and helped lower him to the floor. I looked up at him and smiled timidly and he smiled warmly back.

"My name's Leonardo. What's your name?" He asked once the orange one's head was safely on the pillow.

"Oh-uh," I chuckled nervously. "I-I guess that's kinda important," I shrugged and glanced down as I stepped back from our patient. "My name's Jessie."


	3. Chapter 2: Let's Play Hospital

"That's a cool name," I smiled.

"Thanks." Leonardo returned my smile with a small nod.

"You can sit on the couch while I go and get the first aid kit." I said to the two as I made my way to the bathroom. Small talk was the only conversation I could make around strangers, especially ones who made me uncomfortable which often made everything awkward. This was not the best time for awkwardness, these guys were giant, talking, turtles who were hurt and looking for help and I was trying my best. The _least_ I could do was try not to make the atmosphere awkward.

Once I found the first aid, which took some dislodging from all of the clutter under the sink that took longer than what I liked, I scurried back to the living room and began to tend to my injured guests. When I was got back there was a paper towel on the floor covered with bloody darts and throwing stars from their arms and legs; Leonardo was sitting on the edge of the couch, looking around almost nervously, and the red one was on the floor, leaning against the couch with his arms resting on his knees and watching the orange one broodingly with a dark and angry expression on his face. I felt like I was walking onto a verbal battle ground where something just went down, the silent intensity of the room was so thick, you could almost cut it.

"So," I said as my toes squirmed nervously, breaking the silence. "Who do I need to clean up first?"

"You can start with me." The red one huffed and rolled his eyes. Something was up with him, I didn't know what it was and it wasn't my business to get into it, but I figured that I'd probably end up hearing all about it eventually. I timidly walked up to him and started to open up the kit and organize its contents out on the floor, bandages of all different sizes and assortments, butterfly closures, gauze, alcohol and iodine swabs, athletic tapes, antibacterial ointments, and a bottle of both rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. There would be a huge mess of wrappers and bloody paper towels all over the floor by the end of the night, it'd probably end up looking like an actual field hospital.

"Is it okay if I start here?" I asked, pointing at a gash with drying blood on his left shoulder.

"Sure." He grumbled as he rolled his head and clenched his jaw. He was upset and there was a face of disapproval in his attitude coming from over Leonardo's nose. There was tension in between the two of them and I knew if I did something that could set off one of them off, then it wouldn't be pretty. So I was careful and tried to be as gentle as possible so that I didn't make the current situation worse.

I pulled off an alcohol swab packet from the rest and ripped open the package and began to wipe up the blood that had dried and that which was still wet. From what I could tell, his skin was thickest on his shoulders and the fact that his cut was so deep scared me. Just how _hard_ did that thing come at him? I cleaned the blood as best as I could from in between the subtle scales and moved on to a couple of paper towels and peroxide.

"This may sting a little," I said as I slowly poured the liquid onto the gash with the paper towel underneath to catch the access. He cringed and sucked in air when it made contact with his arm and began to bubble vigorously. "Sorry." I apologized with a meek smile.

"Ain't nothing that I haven't been through before," He said as he relaxed. "Thanks."

"Hey, the way I work is that if I'd ignored you, I would be on my own guilt trip for at least a month wondering if you the three of you were all right." I shrugged and kept my attention on his shoulder as I dabbed the paper towel on it and switched to figuring out bandages. I still felt uncomfortable with myself being around them, it was the kind that you feel when you're left in a room filled with strangers and you have to interact with them.

"Well, this was kind of a gamble on our part…" Leonardo sighed; he was starting to get antsy even though he tried to hide it. "Who knows what anyone else would've done if we went to their home and asked for their help?"

"Yeah," I chuckled. "It's not like this neighborhood is untrustworthy, there are a lot of good people out here, but most would've flipped out and slammed the door in your face. Especially the guy to the left, he's weird." I said as I fiddled with a butterfly closure to somewhat close the gash, since I'd never had to use one I didn't know how to apply it. When I finally got it free of the all of its wrappers, I lightly pinched the gash together and applied it as best as I could, but he was going to need another two. After I figured out the other two closures and got them into place, I covered it with a gauze pad and taped it to his arm. "That should do it for that one." I sighed and put my hands on my hips, feeling accomplished. The rest of his injuries looked like they just needed some cleaning and Band-Aids or a little wrapping gauze.

"You know how to do a good field dressing. Have you done this before?" The red one asked.

"No, the most major medical dressing I've ever done was dress a burn on a friend's leg from a hot motor bike muffler," I blushed at his compliment. "But nothing like this."

"Well, you dressed it like you have." He looked at his shoulder and gently pressed his finger across the tape. I smiled and went on to a cut on his left side in the skin in between his plastron and shell, the skin there was lighter, smoother and not as tough compared the skin on his shoulders.

"Can you please move your arm?" I asked as I pulled a Band-Aid and alcohol swab from the pile on the floor along with a small tube of ointment. I was probably a little too abrupt with the sudden demanding question; but he still raised his arm above his head so I could get to his side, it was only then did I notice that he had some kind of three-pronged dagger with a point at the end of the handle hanging from the mass of thin leather belts around his waist. I swallowed nervously at the sharp weapon and continued to tend to his side. "What's your name?" I asked, trying to hide my new-found nervousness without looking up at him and glancing at the dagger.

"Raphael." He said his strong ribs moving as he spoke. I nodded as I wiped his cut with the swab and dabbed ointment on it. Since I'd just noticed his belt, I started studying his wardrobe, or lack thereof, he wasn't wearing much to begin with.

There was a thick leather strip that went across is left shoulder and ended on his right hip at the belt. He didn't have any shoes, unlike Leonardo whose were almost two different shoes sewn together to fit his huge feet, but he did have strips of leather wrapped around the ball of his two-toed feet and lace-up leather shin guard type things that completely covered his lower legs. He was also wearing knee and thigh wraps that were tattered and dirty. To cover his… Manly things… There were strips of thin, metal studded leather attached to the front of his belt and I assumed that he had more covering under his belt than just those leather strips. His wrists were also wrapped and he had single strips of cloth on both biceps, red on the left and white on the right. As I was tending to Raphael, I noticed that Leonardo had gotten antsier, almost to the point of exploding.

"Raph, we have to go back for them." He said urgently.

 _Who's "them"?_ I thought questioningly.

"I know," He lowered his arm after I put the Band-Aid on his side and looked at Leonardo solemnly and sighed. "But we can't just leave Mikey here alone…" Then he stopped. Both of them slowly turned their heads to look at me.

"Could you possibly look after him while we're gone?" Leonardo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure, I-I guess." I shrugged. "I don't exactly know when my parents are supposed to get back. They're having a date night and my little brother is spending the night at my grandma's with our cousins… Wait—you guys want to go _back_ out to where you were hurt? You're not in the best condition to do that."

"Look Jessie, you have to understand that we _aren't_ human. We can take a lot more abuse compared to you." Leonardo leaned towards me with a serious face. His statement was probably very true, but if this was the outcome of what had happened when they _weren't_ hurt, then going back out into something like that when they're hurt could make their condition even worse.

"I'm not done cleaning him up, much less _you_." I was getting angry with him, even though I'd only known them for less than an hour, I wasn't about to just let them walk out the door still bleeding. "You're not leaving until I've at least gotten some of your more serious injuries cleaned up." I got up onto my knees and put my hands on my hips and looked him straight in the eye.

"Jessie—" Raphael started.

"No. You're not going out either until I get you cleaned up some more." I snapped at him. "If you go back out there in this condition, you could end up like him." I gestured to the orange masked turtle on the floor and looked in between the two of them. "Unconscious and helpless and I wouldn't be able to help you. I may not know much about medical stuff, but I know enough to figure out that things can get a lot worse. If I didn't care about you, then I wouldn't have let you into this house." I ended my rant and left Leonardo with a shocked face and Raphael was starting to let his face twist with anger. "Now, you can leave when I'm somewhat done with the two of you." I nodded, having made my point clear and proceeded to quickly wipe off another gash with iodine on Raphael's right leg, finishing it with some tape and gauze. After a few more bandages, ointment dabs, and swabs, I was finished with Raphael.

Leonardo wasn't quite as banged up as Raphael, but he still has his fill of cuts and bruises. I cleaned up a cut on the top of his head and a gash that had been cut through his blue mask, one of the many blue things that was incorporated in his wardrobe. Leonardo's choice of sparse clothing was similar to Raphael's but seemed more like a traditional Japanese outfit than Raphael's. His consisted of a primitive chest guard made of small bamboo sprigs laced together with string and tied around his neck, shoulder pads, metal knuckle guards, a leather strap that went across his right shoulder with a little NYC pin, which connected to a leather belt that also secured the loin cloth-like assembly of tattered blue cloth that he wore around his waist, and his legs were wrapped with leather strips that went from right below his knees to his ankles. On the back of his shell were two mounted swords with the accompanying sheaths that crossed into an X. What exactly did these guys need weapons like this for?

"Aw, really?" He complained when I pointed it out.

"Yeah, it has a little blood on it too," I said as I gently wiped his brow through the torn cloth and finished it off with a butterfly closure. I was sitting on the couch next to him while Raphael was cleaning up the orange one's injuries. "What's his name?" I asked and nodded towards him.

"His name's Michelangelo." He answered as we watched Raphael clean him up.

"All Italian names…" I said to myself quietly.

"Yeah," He sighed and looked at me. "Ya' know, you didn't have to do this."

"Yes I did," I pressed a Band-Aid onto his thick, strong arm. "I can't answer a door to someone who's hurt and close it back behind me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself out of grief and worry on whether they're okay. It's just the way I am." I said softly and made eye contact with him.

"Well, I think that'll do him for the moment." Raphael said as he got up from the floor and faced us. "Leo, we need to go."

"Agreed." Leonardo jumped up from the couch and stood next to Raphael, the two of them next to each other was a sight to behold. "Are you going to be okay here with Mikey?" He asked after a quick glance back at Michelangelo.

"I believe so…" I nodded and peered in between them to look at the bandaged and still out-cold, giant, turtle. "Who are you going back out for?" I asked. If they were going back out to find someone when they were still bleeding underneath bandages, then they must be pretty important. Is this the "them" that Leonardo was talking about earlier?

"Um…" Raphael started and glanced at Leonardo for back up.

"There are others out there who are still in trouble. We have to go help them." He said with a shaky and uncertain smile. I was getting skeptical, there was something more to than just going back out to help these "others". What were they helping them with?

"Yeah, we'll be back for Michelangelo once we're done helping them." Raphael chimed in with a grin that looked weird, coming from someone like him. It was almost like they were trying to explain something to a little kid, all smiles and cheery voices. They couldn't have been any more out of context than what they were, all cut up and bloody and then smiling and talking like kindergarten teachers to me like I was over half my age. Before I could ask any more questions, they were already hurrying to the door.

"Hey, you probably won't be able to come back in by the time you're done because of Mom and Dad," I called from the couch. "So go to the tree house at the edge of the yard. You can stay there for the night, you should be safe there."

"Thanks! We may need your help again once we're back…" Leonardo said half way out the door with Raphael holding the door handle, waiting for Leonardo to move.

"Okay…" I said quietly. "B-be careful!" I called as the door shut behind them. As soon as the door closed, I crawled to the other end of the couch and looked out the back door's window and watched the two of them run across the yard and towards the woods behind my house, activating the motion detector light in the driveway. They moved with a speed and swiftness that didn't match their hulking physique, graceful and powerful but still nimble. I watched them until they disappeared into the dark trees and whatever danger that loomed within them.


	4. Chapter 3: Story Time with a Turtle

I watched the edge of the woods for a moment then turned my attention to Michelangelo, my unusual patient on the floor. He was smaller than Leonardo and Raphael, but still a huge build for someone his height; I guess you could say he was stouter than the others. His face wasn't quite as angled as Raphael's but squarer than Leonardo's; it was softer and had a friendlier look to it. As the same as the others, he had scars, but not quite as many, though that would most likely change due to his recent injuries; the most notable scar was one on his chin underneath his lip, and something that I found funny about his plastron was that there was a small heart-shaped mark in the center of it, almost where his belly button would be.

Michelangelo was probably the most fashionable one out of the three; he had both a cowrie shell and wooden beaded necklace with a cracked pair of white sunglasses that hung from one of them. He also had two leather straps that went across his chest, making an x, both of his hands were wrapped from wrist-to-knuckle with dirty white fabric and had metal knuckle guards on top of that and beaded chain for a bracelet on his left wrist. He had a white tattered and dirty sweatshirt tied around his hips that held a pair of wood handled nunchucks that were connected by chains and ball-bearing sockets. Along with thick, tight, black athletic pants lined with orange and Duck Tape over any tear in them. There were pads on his knees, Fila basketball shoes that were split at the toes which were a lot like Leonardo's, and a shin guard on his left leg, which all matched his pants while his right calf was wrapped with the same kind of wrap on his wrists.

I curled up on the couch for a few minutes and studied him and began to wonder why God had led the three of them to my house and not to someone else's. Was it because of my very basic medical knowledge that consisted of applying bandages and wrapping ankles and wrists? I never had much interest in going to medical school and becoming a doctor or nurse. Or was it because of my curiosity-over-logic attitude? That's actually gotten me into the trouble before and will sometime soon. I had a feeling that something was going to happen. Something _big_. Now, what that "something" was, I had no clue.

After about ten minutes of sitting on the couch, the time caught up to me. I was never a night owl and sleep was one of my best friends, like any other teenager. With my excitement working its way out of my system and sleepiness settling in its place, I started to doze off; after what seemed only two minutes, I was woken back up by groaning. I jerked my head up and sleepily opened my eyes to see that Michelangelo was starting to stir, his face started twisting itself into a cringe as he raised his arms up towards his head and stretched.

"Oww…" Michelangelo groaned as he raised his head and put a hand up to his face to block out the light coming from the lamp. He then dropped his head back down on the pillow and took a deep breath as he rubbed his face with both of his hands and then dragged them down his cheeks as he exhaled. "Man, this sucks." He mumbled to himself and squinted at the ceiling; then his eyes got as wide as saucers when he noticed that there was actually a roof over his head. He whipped his head in my direction and nearly jumped out of his shell when he saw me sitting on the couch. I stared at him with wide eyes and he returned the stare, now leaning back on his elbows and knees bent, ready to jump and high-tail it out. Then I remembered I could talk.

"Wait—wait, don't freak out," I put my hands out in front of me and waved them, trying to make sure he didn't completely flip out and hurt himself even more. "I know you're probably confused—but I can explain why you're here."

"Wh-who are you?" He squinted at me in confusion. His voice was a lot like Leonardo's but not quite as textured, it was raspy but not at the same time. He oddly reminded me of a west-coast surfer.

"I'm someone who helped you," I placed my hand on my chest and smiled as best as I could while trying not to look creepy. "Your friends Leonardo and Raphael brought you here because all three of you were hurt."

"Where are they?" He asked urgently.

"They went back outside to go and find the others…?" I shrugged, I was still clueless to who these "others" were.

 _"_ _They went back out?"_ I nodded in response which made him sigh heavily and hang his head. "They shouldn't have done that."

"I tried to stop them, it obviously didn't work." I shrugged as I sat up on the couch and crossed my legs. We sat in silence for a moment until it got awkward. "Uh… I'm Jessie." I held out my hand for a shake and he looked at it questioningly.

"I'm Michelangelo." He said and shook it; he had a firm hand shake, but what else was I supposed to expect from someone with a build like his?

"I know." I smiled, then I realized how much creepier that made me seem. "I—uh—they told me your name while you were unconscious. I'm supposed to be watching you while they're out."

"I figured," He grinned and sat up and crossed his legs to face me. "I'm obviously in no condition to join them." He chuckled with a shrug.

"So, who are these "others" that Leonardo and Raphael are so worried about?" I asked as I cocked my head to one side.

"Oh, they're my other brother and sister. I guess that Leo and Raph decided to get me out of there when I was clocked out." He rubbed the back of his head and cringed. "Man, I guess I did take quite a beating." He mumbled.

"Wait Michelangelo, you have a brother and sister?"

"Yeah, Leo and Raph are my brothers too. There are four of us guys and then our sister." He smiled then chuckled. "I sometimes feel bad for her for putting up with us."

"Wow, so there's five total?" I raised my eyebrows at the thought.

"Yup," He nodded. "There's me, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael, who you've already met, and then Donatello and Venus. Raph and Leo went back out to find them…" He sighed heavily. "I just hope they're okay." He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs with a worried look on his face.

"From what I've gathered from your brothers, I think they'll be just fine." I smiled warmly, or at least I tried to. I had no idea if the four of them would come back in one piece, and judging from Leonardo and Raphael's injuries, there's a possibility that they may not. "So when you say "Leo" and "Raph", I assume those are nicknames for Leonardo and Raphael?" I said, changing the subject to a lighter one.

"Yeah, it's a mouthful to say their whole names all the time," He shrugged and looked up at me with his bright, sky-blue eyes. "You can call me Mikey and Donnie or Don for Donatello; Venus doesn't really have or need a nickname. I mean, her name _is_ longer, but we don't call her by her full name, obviously."

"Yeah, I feel your pain on that," I shook my head and raised a hand in agreement. "I have a long one too."

"Really? What is it?" Mikey asked and leaned back against his legs in interest.

"Jessamyne Ellen Rice. That's my full name, but people call me Jessie." I grinned and blushed as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Wow, I've never heard that name before," He commented as a smile grew across his face. "It's beautiful."

 _He can flirt? How does he even know how_ to _flirt?_ I thought in astonishment as I began to feel my ears start to burn and my cheeks start to turn red.

"So," I cleared my throat and changed the subject. "Where are you guys from?"

"We're from New York City," He sighed and looked off into the distance, wherever that distance was. "We came down here because of a dusty, old legend and a weird hunch of Venus's." He looked up at me and huffed in amusement. "I still don't really get what it's all about even though she's explained it a million-and-one-times. Something about the return of some evil spirit and the possibility of the "Great Apocalypse" and what not," He signed quotations in the air and rolled his eyes. "And the Ayakashi…? I don't really know what that is." He shrugged in confusion.

"A what?" I asked, squinting in confusion.

"Exactly!" He exclaimed with a smile. "Anyways, the mission is to find this Ayakashi so it can save the world or whatever from this evil spirit. Venus is a good gal and I love her like any brother should, but sometimes I think she has a screw or two loose in her head." He twirled his finger next to his head and made a weird face, which made me giggle. "So, yeah…" He sighed and looked at me warmly.

"Interesting," I nodded. "Were you guys born this way?" I gestured to his whole body. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." I added in hastily, I wasn't going to push him into anything that he wasn't comfortable with, but my curiosity was growing with every detail Mikey told.

"Oh, no prob." He waved me off. "It's a really cool story." He shifted his weight, scratched his head, and began. "We all started out as normal, baby turtles about sixteen years ago. We were originally a part of a scientific experiment called Project Renaissance. Project Renaissance was an experiment that was a test to see if this synthetic mutagen stuff would mutate us into something awesome, and, obviously, it did." Mikey rolled his eyes and placed his hand on his chest as if he was stating the obvious. "We were being transported to a different facility in a terrarium when it was dropped and we all fell out of it and into the sewers. But they weren't only testing it on just us little turtles they also tried it on a rat. He was older than us and he says that when they injected him with the mutagen, his intelligence grew drastically but not as fast as his body. So when we fell into the sewers, he decided to raise us—except for Venus, she wandered off and was found by a Japanese Onmyodo-sage guy and went back to Japan with him. But like him, the five of us grew in smarts and size.

We came to know the rat as Splinter; he taught us how to become ninjas from a book that he found in the sewers. He kinda taught himself from the book first, but we all learned."

 _So that's why Leo and Raph can run like that._ I thought as I listened to Mikey.

"What about reading and all that kind of stuff?" I asked.

"Oh, that was something we all kinda caught on to, especially Donnie. He taught us as he went along and such; he's the brains of all of us." He scratched the back of his head and sighed. "And… That's pretty much it, I guess."

"Cool!" I smiled. These guys were definitely something and nothing short of amazing!


	5. Chapter 4: How to Avoid Your Parents

**Chapter 4: How to Avoid Your Parents with a Mutant in the House**

We talked and talked and could've kept going until we were blue in the face, but that was interrupted when I saw headlights coming up the driveway.

"Oh crap." My eyes widened as I whipped my head towards the door. "You have to hide! They can't see you, if they find out about you, then we'd both be in major trouble." I looked back at Mikey with urgency. "We also have to clean up this mess." I glanced at the mess of Band-Aid wrappers and paper towels on the floor.

"You got a plan?" He asked with wide eyes.

"No," I shook my head. "Go hide in my room. It's upstairs and the room at the end of the hall." I pointed towards the stairs. "I'll try to clean this up before they come in." I looked back at the door when I heard the garage door opening.

"Aye, aye Boss." He saluted me as he got up from the floor, headed towards the foyer and found the stairs.

I ran quickly picked up the garbage that I'd left sitting on the ground from my attempts to bandage Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. There were the annoying, little, white Band-Aid sticker backs all over the place, used alcohol and iodine swabs, crumpled up wrappers, and bloody, wadded up paper towels. I scrambled to pick up every last piece of evidence of the "field hospital" and ran to the bathroom, threw the first aid kit and clean paper towels up underneath the toilet bowl, and shoved the remains into the little trashcan and flipped the lid back down on it right as the door opened.

"Jess?" I heard my mom call sleepily from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" I responded from the bathroom as I flushed the toilet, trying my best to convince them I'd just gotten done with my business. It was the best thing I could do to somewhat explain why I was in the bathroom.

"Why are you still up?" She asked as I popped out of the bathroom while trying to stay unsuspicious and keep my nerves together.

"Uh—" I chuckled nervously. "I was up on the computer…?" I softly shrugged. When I got nervous and had to do something right on the spot that could determine whether someone was safe or not, my nerves would get sketchy and my heart would beat like it was about to jump out of my chest.

"This late? You should be in bed." Dad said as he walked up to Mom who squinted at me tiredly and scratched her head full of tight and frizzy ringlets.

"All right," I faked a yawn and stretched; I was as far from tired as anyone could be. My mind was swimming and adrenaline was running laps around my body. How can I possibly be tired when something like this is going on? "You go on to bed and I'll turn everything off." I grinned at them, getting tired looks of suspicion back as they trudged into their bedroom. Only when the door closed and the lights went off could I breathe again, I'd been as stiff as a board from nervousness during the whole conversation.

"Okay, now on to more pressing things." I sighed to myself as I quickly went around and turned off all of the lights downstairs, as promised. I made a round through the living room, to the kitchen, and back around to the bathroom where I grabbed the first aid kit and scrambled upstairs to my room. The whole second floor was dark and since I'd lived in this house for my whole life, finding my way around rather was easy. When I came to my door at the end of the hall, I opened it and groped around on the wall for the light switch and turned it on, but there was no light. Then I remembered that the chain was what I usually controlled the lights with. I eventually found it after flailing my hands around looking for it and turned them on.

 _Ooh, bright._ I thought as I squinted in the sudden light.

"Mikey?" I called out softly as I moved from the light chain to the floor lamp next to my bed. The lamp definitely made my room a more comfortable environment for both the eyes and mood. "I took care of my parents, where are you?"

"Stuck." I heard a muffled voice say from my dormer.

"What?" I walked to my dormer and looked at the only thing that he could hide under: my window seat. It was something simple that Dad made for me out of a few pieces of plywood, hinges, and a couple pillows, the space underneath it was for storage and made the perfect hiding spot. You could tell someone was under the seat because of the displaced pillows.

"I'm stuck." He said from under the seat, sounding defeated.

"Well, I can see that." I chuckled and put my hands on my hips as I looked at the seat.

"So…?" He started.

"So what?" I smiled smugly at the little pickle he'd gotten himself into.

"Are you gonna help me or what?" Poor Michelangelo was probably balled up in some awkward way, unable to move without bumping something or breaking the drywall.

"Sure." I giggled as I walked up to the seat and lifted the lid. I was right, he was his side and curled up into a tight, little, uncomfortable looking ball who was only small enough to fit if he hugged his knees. "How did you even manage to get in there without me hearing you from downstairs?" The walls in the house weren't exactly sound proof.

"I'm a ninja, duh." He said as if I didn't know the obvious. "I was literally raised learning how to do this."

I shook my head in mild amusement and opened the lid up as far as it would go with my hand still on it since it couldn't stay up by itself. We ended up figuring out that he had to be sat up right while still hugging his legs in order for him to get into a position to stand, which was hard because, even balled up, his upper body was almost as tall as the seat was long. It's often easier getting into something than it is getting out of it. Eventually, Mikey was sitting upright and struggling to stand because of how narrow the seat was. It took us about fifteen minutes just to get him out.

"I'm never doing that again!" He huffed as he stretched and popped his fingers above his head.

"Hopefully you won't have to." I grinned from the seat.

"Me too." He chuckled and sighed in satisfaction.

"Do you think that your brothers are back yet?" I asked after a pause and peeked out my window from behind the blinds.

"I don't know," Mikey said worriedly. "Where are they supposed to go? They can't come back here."

"We have a treehouse in our back yard, I told them to go there." I got up and moved to my other window and looked out towards the woods in the direction of where they went in.

"How do we know when they're back?" He asked from behind me.

"I don't know, they didn't say anything about a signal or some way of letting me know. I guess we just have to watch." I yawned and stretched as I looked out into the darkness.

"To be honest, it's kinda hard to watch from here." Mikey said as he leaned closer to the window.

"We can always go outside onto the roof." I said and looked at him from over my shoulder. My room was right above the breeze way that connected the house to the garage had a perfect view of the woods and the treehouse door, so we would be able to clearly see them when they finally got back.

"I don't know man," He said hesitantly. "We could be seen, there could be Foot soldiers out there…"

"Foot soldiers?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, they're the guys that banged us all up." He said and gestured to his arms but blew it off as if it were nothing.

"They're the ones that Leo and Raph are out fighting right now?" I exclaimed. How could he be so laid back about that? _They almost killed him and his brothers._ "The ones that _you_ fought?"

"Yup, they're annoying and always after us; they followed us all the way down here for some reason. I don't know why. I mean, they were associated with Project Renaissance and never really left us alone since the first time we busted them in New York, but that still doesn't really explain why they followed us. Can't a fam get a little away time every now and then?" He huffed angrily.

"How far away were you when you were fighting them?" I asked.

"Oh, a couple miles, or at least that's what it felt like." He said, still looking out my window.

"Then I think we'll be fine." I shrugged, trying to be reassuring, but underneath, I was uneasy. Judging by the condition that the three of them are in, they're nothing to be messed with.

"I don't know…" Mikey said, still uncertain about the idea.

"Hey," I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Have you ever looked the stars here?"

"No."

"I know that in big cities like New York that it's hard to see the stars, but out here, in the country away from large cities, you can see them bright as day." I smiled.

"Really?" He looked up at the sky through the window in curiosity.

"Yup, especially on summer nights like this." I grinned as he continued to stare up at the dark sky. I chuckled, opened my window, and popped the screen out so that we could get onto the roof. I crawled out first and then looked behind my shoulder at Mikey, who was so mesmerized at the sky, that he was only half way out the window and gaping in awe at the star-speckled sky. I giggled and went back over to him and tugged at his hand to bring him completely out onto the roof.

"Dude…" He breathed when he was standing up and turning around in circles to see all of the stars that filled the Kentuckian night. "I've never seen so many all at one time. We never get to see them like this in New York." He said with a wide smile.

"This is no New York." I sighed with a smile and went to sit down on the side of the roof that looked over the backyard and the tree line. Mikey made his way over next to me and laid back on the roof with his hands behind his head and kept looking at the sky.

"Yeah, it's so much more peaceful here," He said as he turned his head to look at me. "No honking cars, police sirens, or yelling people. Man, out here, you just hear the crickets and frogs." He ended with a sigh of satisfaction and closed his eyes in bliss. "But I could never leave New York forever," He looked back up at the sky as the blissful expression melted away from his face. "It's all I know."

"I understand," I sighed and looked back at the trees and took a deep breath of the cool summer air. "I've lived here all of my life and I don't really ever see myself leaving to live somewhere else because I'd end up missing it." I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my arms and chin on them. That was an honest fact, I could never leave this beautiful state for long. I planned to go to college at the local university and stay close to home; but the odd thing about me was, I loved to travel. Seeing the different landscapes of the different places that I went through, or over, depending on whether it was a road trip or plane flight. It was a quirk that I couldn't really explain.

I stared at the trees and watched how they moved in the breeze against the inky darkness of the sky, darker figures set against it, like shadows that could swallow something so it would never be seen again. I watched them until a different movement caught my eye—and it wasn't set against the sky either. Two awkward figures silently moving towards the treehouse, walking like they had a heavy load hanging off of each.

"Hey, I think they're back." I tapped Mikey as I stood up and peered down at the figures, the moon wasn't at its brightest, so making out what they were was hard.

"Huh?" He sat up and squinted into the darkness and followed my pointing finger. After a moment there was a brief, but shrill, whistle that came from below. "Yeah, that's them." He said as he stood up and answered back with a flailing wave.

"Okay, how are we gonna get down to them?" I asked with a sigh. "We can't go back downstairs and risk waking up Mom and Dad and I don't have a ladder up here…"

"Heh, that's not a problem," He grinned at me. "Go get the first aid kit and I'll show you how _we_ get around in the Big Apple."

"Wha-?" I was confused, he wasn't going to jump… Was he?

"Have a little faith." He winked as I slowly turned around and crawled back into my room, skeptical. Since we were expecting two new patients, I grabbed several blankets and all of my pillows, one for each of them.

"Wait." I said to myself. Odds were, I was going to end up sleeping out in the treehouse with everybody else, which I did on occasion. Since both Mom and Dad were already in bed, I wrote a note and left it on my bed saying:

 _I'm sleeping out in the treehouse tonight, I want some fresh air. Don't worry about me._

Feeling satisfied with my little note, I wrapped my arms around the kit, paper towels, pillows, blankets, and struggled to turn off my lamp. I hobbled over to the window and shoved my load out of it and onto the roof. I crawled out of the window and closed it behind me; when I turned around, Mikey giving an "are you serious?" look.

"I'm not expecting you to carry it all." I put my hands on my hips and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. By then, I'd finally given to the idea that he _was_ planning to jump down from the roof so picked up the blankets and pillows and threw them off the roof and onto the porch below.

"Well," Mikey looked over the side of the roof down at the mess of bed clothing. He then clapped his hands and rubbed them together and looked back at me. "I'm guessing you've never jumped off of something this high before."

"Does jumping off a cliff into a lake count?" I asked with an awkward smile.

"Not really…" He turned and opened up his arms like a cradle. "I guess I'm gonna have to carry you then; unless you know how to land without hurting yourself."

"Uh—I'd rather you carry me. I don't really want to explain how I broke my leg jumping off of the roof to my parents." I threw up my hands in surrender and walked over to him. This was going to be awkward for me at least. I didn't really like to be picked up and cradled like a small child to begin with and the fact that I was going to be held while he jumped didn't help my mental situation.

I jumped up into his arms and crossed one of mine across my chest with the kit under it while I gripped his shoulder with my free hand. He held me like I was barely weighed anything. I felt his muscular arms flex as he bounced me so that he had me in a better position, which kick started my heart, made adrenaline flood my system again and also made me move my arm around his neck. I was absolutely fine with heights, they didn't scare me, but when I had to jump off of some high place and I _know_ that the thing underneath of it isn't soft, that's when I start to lose my cool.

"You ready?" He asked with a small grin. I shook my head no with closed eyes while biting my lip. Mikey chuckled and took a few steps back, made a few small hops, and then sprang off of the roof; I yelped as we went airborne and I scrunched my eyes even tighter. We landed with a solid _thump_ in the yard and I gasped when he started to laugh. Well, that was embarrassing.

"Are you okay?" He laughed as he let me down from his arms.

"I'm fine." I grumbled as I turned away from him so he couldn't see that I was shaking. I didn't like to feel vulnerable. I always saw myself as a strong and fearless person and often got mad at myself when that idea was proven wrong.

"Really? I could feel your nails digging into my neck when I jumped." He put his hands on his hips while I gathered up the pillows and blankets from the porch with a burning face and ears.

"Here." I shoved half of the load into his arms, picked up mine, and stomped off across the yard to the tree house and the expecting patients.

 _Good job, you have officially humiliated yourself in front of a mutant you just met. What a good first impression._ I thought as I simmered.

Then I realized this wasn't the time to be angry. This time, I had to be the strong person who I always thought I was, but could I do it when there are lives potentially at stake?

 _Lord, help me with this._ I prayed silently as I walked up the ramp to the tree house.


	6. Chapter 5: Band Aids Galore

I slowly opened the door of the tree house and stood in the dark door way and squinted through the darkness, trying to find _someone_. I couldn't see anyone, but I heard them; heavy breaths filled with pain and exhaustion, quiet groans, and sighs of fatigue.

"Leonardo?" I whispered as I placed the pillows, blankets, and first aid kit against the wall next to the door. A huge, looming figure noiselessly stepped in front of me as if it just appeared out of thin air. I jumped back with a squeak in surprise.

"Jessie," It _was_ Leo; then I felt a finger gently press against my lips. "Shh, you need to be quiet," He whispered seriously. "Is Mikey okay?"

"Yes," I said as I looked back over my shoulder as he was walking towards the treehouse. "He's fine."

"Good, we need a lamp or some kind of light, can you find one?" He asked softly, he was inches from my face, I could feel his breath gently hit me as he talked.

"Yeah," I stepped aside when I heard Mikey walk onto the ramp. "There should be at least one in the garage."

"Is everyone all right?" Mikey asked when he got to the door.

"Not really," Leo sighed. "They were fighting off the last of the Foot, if we didn't get there when we did…" He trailed off as Mikey walked in.

"So no time to waste?" I asked; it was more of a statement than a question.

"No time to waste." Leo repeated.

I nodded, turned tail, and ran. I knew where everything was in the yard and was careful not to activate the motion light on the garage. I flew up the stairs on the porch, almost slammed the garage door against the wall, and clambered up the ladder to the attic space above the garage. I flipped the light switch in the attic and squinted at the sudden light, but that didn't slow me down, I went to the corner where we kept all of our camping stuff and rummaged through it and found a propane lamp, a flash light head band, and two sleeping bags. I threw the straps on the sleeping bag sleeves over each shoulder, turned off the light, and hurried down the ladder. I almost went out the garage door then remembered that a propane lamp didn't work if I didn't have a lighter. I scrambled through the tool shelf in the dark and eventually found a lighter in one of the drawers. I was out the door and to the tree house in a flash; I didn't think that I'd ever moved so fast in all of my life.

I burst through the tree house door and fumbled for the head light and slapped the elastic band around my head and turned it on. I could actually see for once. I dropped the sleeping bags down on the floor and lit the propane lamp with trembling hands. I was so pumped up with adrenaline and nervous excitement that my heart felt like it was going to fly out of my chest. The soft light from the lamp slowly filled the tree house's single room and I was able to see everyone, there were two other turtles in the room, just as Mikey had said.

Raph and Leo had already gotten into the first aid kit and were hastily tending to one of the turtles who was paling with blood pouring out of his right leg. There was a mess of bloody, crunched up paper towels beside him and his brothers taking turns pressing and wiping off his leg. He was wearing a purple mask and glasses that were taped in middle so that they could fit his face. I assumed he was Donatello. Mikey was squatting next to the other turtle, who was wearing an aqua mask, with a stack of Band-Aids and swabs next to him, gingerly sticking them on her cuts, I figured this was Venus.

I rushed over to Donatello with the lantern and knelt in between Raph and Leo so I could see what could be done. There was a ginormous gash in his right thigh that was pouring blood and soaking one wad after another. He was going to lose consciousness and bleed out if we didn't stop it sometime soon. I started to panic and look hastily around the area for an idea or something that I could make use of to help. Then I got an idea.

"I need a belt." I said urgently. The idea came from going with my dad when he would donate blood. The nurses there would put surgical tubing or a blood pressure cuff around his arm to help him fill the bag faster; but if they tied it too tight, it'd cut off the circulation to the rest of his arm. If my hypothesis worked and I tied his thigh tight enough, it would slow down the bleeding.

"What?" Raph asked in confusion. "Why do you need a belt?"

"To stop the bleeding," I turned to him with wide eyes. "If it's tight enough on his leg, it'll cut off on the blood circulation and stop, or at least, slow the bleeding."

"How do you know that this'll work?" He asked skeptically as he tore off more paper towels and leaned down on the wound.

"Don't argue, just get her something." Leo snapped.

"It doesn't have to specifically be a belt." I shrugged as I started to dig through the kit for some Super Glue.

"Here." Leo said as I heard the ripping of cloth and handed me a strip from one of his leg wraps.

I took it and gently lifted Donatello's leg up enough to wrap the cloth under it as he let out a pain-filled grunt when I moved it. I glanced up at his pale and tired face as I jerked the cloth into a tight knot about two inches above the gash, making him lurch.

"I'm sorry." I apologized and looked up at him. "I hope this will work." I mumbled to myself as I continued to tighten the cloth.

"It should…" He slurred. "Keep… Compression…" He panted as his head started to loll.

"Hey, hey, I need you to look at me." I put my hands on his cheeks and lifted up his head so we were eye-to-eye. "I know you're tired, but you need to stay awake. Look at me." I said, trying to sound calm but my nervousness kept seeping through. He tried to keep them open and look at me, but they kept closing.

"Is it slowing down?" I asked and looked at Leo urgently.

"I think so." He said as he let up so that Raph could take his place and get a fresh pad of paper towels.

"Leo, can you find the Super Glue from the kit?" I asked without looking away from Donatello. "We're gonna glue him shut."

"What?" He almost shrieked.

"Yeah, I'm not going to try to stitch it. I don't know how to and I'm no seamstress." The bleeding was steadily slowing down; the strip was working. Leo found the glue and set it next to my leg as I kept Donatello's attention; about twenty minutes later, the bleeding had almost stopped. This gave me time to see how this guy was different than his brothers.

His face was thinner than his brothers' but still had a nice strength to it. He was definitely taller and leaner than the others; he reminded me of a geek. His clothing ensemble suggested that as well—instead of having a leather or a fabric loin cloth thing, his was _solar paneling_ that even had wires going up to a power strip that was mounted on a leather strip that went over his right shoulder. There was a smaller leather strip that was fastened by a metal ring in the middle of the big strap that went over his left shoulder, he had shin guards with matching knee and elbow pads, his left thigh wrapped in a dirty white leg wrap that looked a lot like what his brothers wore and he had a guard on his left shoulder. His shoes weren't actually sewn together, which I found odd. He had two strips of purple cloth that matched his mask wrapped around his right bicep and shoulder. Next to him was a molded piece of leather that was shaped like it would be fastened around a leg or something. It probably was the thigh guard for his bleeding leg, so much for guarding it, he was bleeding as if it hadn't been on his leg. Like his brother Mikey, he had a small beaded necklace that suggested that he had _some_ fashion sense. When I'd decided that he was aware enough to keep from passing out like a cold cucumber, I turned my focus to actually patching him up.

I straddled his shin and looked at the cut which was about as long as my hand and as wide as my middle finger. This wasn't going to feel good. I pulled off a few of the almost depleted roll of paper towels and went for the hydrogen peroxide.

"All right Donatello, this is gonna hurt a little." I warned as I unscrewed the cap and gently poured it on his leg. That was probably an understatement. He let out a choked yelp as the disinfectant fizzed and bubbled; it almost sounded like a freshly opened can of soda. I felt bad for him, a huge gash in your leg only to have it tied off and then start to burn when people were trying to help. After about thirty seconds, I wiped off his leg and dabbed it dry, trying my best not to hurt him anymore than what he was already was. Next was going to be the tricky part.

"Okay, time for the Super Glue." I said to myself as I stacked up the things I needed. A roll of gauze, a gauze pad, some butterfly closures, tape, and an ace bandage.

"You ever done this before?" Raph asked.

"Nope." I replied, not looking up from what I was doing. "'Kay, I'm gonna need somebody's help with this." By that time Mikey was finished with helping Venus and both were watching my whole "operation" on Donatello.

"Sure, what do 'ya want me to do?" Mikey piped up.

"I need you to hold his leg together, like this." I motioned by putting my hands above either side of his thigh and pushing them towards each other. I glanced up at him as his face went from eager-to-help to a nervous uncertainty that suggested otherwise.

"Uhh… Okay…" He hesitated and shuffled over next to me and held out his hands. I placed them where I wanted them to be.

"Now, gently squeeze it so tht the skin is touching." I explained. "I'm sorry that I'm causing you so much pain." I looked up at Donatello apologetically, feeling absolutely horrible that I was.

"It's okay, do what you have to." He grinned weakly; his voice was a little nasally compared to the others. "My leg is pretty much numb anyways from that wrap." He nodded to the cloth. His whole leg must be asleep by now.

 _Wow, I'd be sobbing from the pain at this point._ I shook my head in disbelief at his pain tolerance.

I looked at Mikey, signaling him to start pressing the skin together. As he did what I told him to do, blood oozed out, I wiped that off, and unscrewed the cap of the small tube of glue. When the sides of the wound were together, I gently put a thick line of glue over it and pinched it as I went along. Then I took the closures and put a wing on either side once the glue was dry, which didn't take long, to hold it shut and prevent the glue from coming apart. After the closures were in place, I put the gauze pad over the cut, taped it, and then wrapped the roll gauze around that by slipping my hand under his leg as I went around and finished with more tape. The ace wrap was next.

"Okay, I'm gonna have to lift your leg up now." I said smoothly, I sounded like a nurse talking to a three-year-old while giving him a checkup. Donatello nodded with a grimace as I lifted his knee over my shoulder. I sighed under its weight as I wrapped the tan bandage around the white gauze and fastened the end with its little metal clips.

"All righty," I said as I slowly lowered his leg back down to the floor. "I think that'll do it." I then busied myself to untying the strip of cloth from his leg.

"What is your name?" Venus asked in an almost steely tone; she had a fading Asian accent that still lingered but didn't make it so that I couldn't understand her.

"Jessie," I replied and turned to face her; she was watching me like a hawk with dark brown eyes that didn't know whether I was a good or bad guy. "Why?" Then I could've face palmed myself, of course she wanted to know my name because I hadn't introduced myself yet.

"Just wondering." She said as she looked at me over her nose.

From what I could tell, she was a little taller than Mikey, but not as broad as him. She had a curvy figure, as any woman would, it was not fat but rather lean muscle, with plastron covered breasts, which seemed odd for a turtle. She had a heart shaped face and large, but proportional, lips which were pursed as she looked at me. Her mask was aqua with the ends in a long braid that draped over her shoulder. She was actually wearing less clothing than I'd expected—she wasn't wearing any kind of shirt or upper-body covering but she _did_ have a long, black and aqua skirt that was tied around her waist with a long strip of black cloth, leaving her hips open. She wore wide, black high-top Converses that were doodled on and faded with their share of tears and holes, something that Chuck Taylors were known to look good with. She also had black shin guards and her upper thighs were wrapped like Leo's but only neater, she had a black arm band with a strip of aqua cloth that went over top of it with a small Yin Yang broach in the middle. Along her waist was a belt that had several small, leather bags attached to it filled with something… Or some _things_.

"Thanks Doc," Donatello said as he inspected my handiwork with inquisitive hazel eyes. "Are you going to be a nursing major?"

"I don't plan to go into medicine."

"Well, you should. I've never seen anyone think of how to take care of something that quick and it actually _work_." He smiled. "Oh, my name is Donatello, you can call me Donnie, but I think you already know that."

"Yeah," I shrugged and blushed. "Mikey told me everything; and you're Venus right?" I turned to her with a questioning grin. I, of course, already knew that that was her name, but asking for it would cut down on the creep factor.

"Yes." Her hostile uncertainty wasn't completely gone, but she didn't seem quite as skeptical compared to before. She looked me up and down silently, taking in what the human that helped her and her brothers looked like. It made me feel awkward and pinned me to my spot.

"Whelp," Leo clapped his hands together after that awkward silence. "I think we all should be hitting the sack."

That was a good idea, it almost beat my ideas to patch up Donnie—I'm no night owl and came a rotten pumpkin if I stayed up too late. It was roughly 2 AM and if I hadn't been caught up in playing nurse, then I'd be more than just a rotten pumpkin. I like my sleep and I'd been known to yell at people if they kept me up.

I looked around at everybody; it seemed like they were dead. Dead tired. Their faces were blank from exhaustion and their bodies bruised and patched with Band Aids. We all needed rest.

I yawned, got up, and walked over to the pile of sleeping bags and blankets.

"I brought these down here 'cause I figured that you'd be spending the night in here and I'm not gonna let you guys sleep on this hard, wood floor without anything, especially when you're all busted up like this." I picked up a bag or bundle of blankets threw it to each of them and a pillow after that. "This is all I could really round up on such a short notice."

"This is great, thank you." Donnie nodded with a tired smile. "I honestly couldn't thank you enough for what you've done for us."

"Hey, no biggie. I will admit that I don't do this on a daily basis and don't _plan_ to, but it's the least I could do for some weary travelers." I shrugged at him with a little smile. I looked around at them again as they began to make their beds, I made sure to bring a pile of blankets and a pillow for myself. I couldn't get back into the house without waking Mom and Dad up and I thought that I would be of more use out here anyways. If anybody needed anything, it would be easier and safer for me to do it at the moment but it sounded like that could change fairly quickly depending on who or _what_ decided to give us a visit.

Or maybe I was just being a worry wart who was too caught up in her curiosity to leave them alone. Or it was some kind of weird motherly instinct that kicked in when I first saw Leo and Raph standing at my door, pleading for help. I didn't know what it was, but something inside of me didn't want to leave them, even if it was only for the night. But of course, night is when some of the scariest and coolest things can happen.


	7. Chapter 6: Nerves and Big News

Last night was probably one of the best night's rest I'd ever had. I slept like a rock on the bottom of a pond, nothing could've woken me. Unless if it was the remembrance that I was smuggling five huge terrapins in my back yard. When that realization came back to me, I jerked straight up in a cold sweat and frantically looked around the room. There wasn't a soul to be found. I started to panic until I heard a hoot of excitement and the zipping of a cable.

My bed was right next to the treehouse's front door, which was standing wide open and letting in a morning breeze and warm sunlight, so I had a perfect view of the back yard and the back of the house. Since the trees were covered in their summer leaves and it being behind the treehouse, the platform for our zip line wasn't easily seen from the kitchen windows, but that didn't mean it was invisible. The back door to the treehouse was also opened, along with the wooden chest that we kept the harnesses and trolley in. The back door led to a catwalk that connected it to the platform; obviously they figured that part out.

I scrambled out from underneath the blankets and dashed to the open backdoor and looked out. Venus and Raph were on the platform watching somebody hit the bungee cord brake of the zip line and giggling when he got stuck.

"How do you get down from here?" I heard Mikey yell from the bottom of the line.

"How should we know?" Venus called back. "We do not live here."

I looked to the right outside of the door and saw Donnie watching the three on the zip line in the summer swing with a smile and Leo was on the skateboard swing next to it, wearing a similar smile. They all seemed like a bunch of kids playing on a brand new playground.

I stepped out onto the wood-planked catwalk and grinned at how much fun they were having. I guessed they were mesmerized and excited as Mikey was the previous night about the stars being so bright here compared to New York. There's a major difference between the Concrete Jungle and a forest like this. Here, there were trees that weren't planted by bulldozers in pre-dug holes, these trees grew naturally from the seeds that the wind and water that brought them. This was a _natural_ forest, not some fake, choice bred, pruned-to-perfection, park that was in the middle of a roaring city. This was probably their first time being in a real forest without being attacked by some weird organization of whacky soldiers in black jump suits.

"Hey, wacha doin'" I asked as I walked to the platform.

"We want a turn on this, but Mikey's stuck down there." Raph said as he pointed towards his brother.

"Ah," I nodded as the orange masked turtle waved at me, defeated. "There's a reason why Dad doesn't let us get on this without a second person." I glanced up at him sideways. "I suggest, if you want a turn, that you go help him off. There's a ladder leaning next to the tree with the bungee on it, help him out and you get to go next." Wow, did I ever sound like a kindergarten teacher.

Raph looked at me with a sigh and shook his head as he pulled out his sai, crossed them over the cable, and zipped off to his brother's rescue. I gaped as he went—there was no fear in him. The height from the cable to the ground was at least fifteen feet and doing something like that would've scared the snot out of me. I watched him as he dropped from the line before he crashed into Mikey like it was nothing, got the ladder under his brother's feet, and let him step down.

"How often does he do that?" I asked Venus.

"Quite often, or at least when he has the chance to. Not all of the power lines in New York are heavy-duty extra-strength." She shrugged. "I would never be able to do it with just sai alone that is just too much for me."

"I wouldn't either, I'm probably not strong enough to do something like that." I chuckled. Then I heard the side door of the house open and close. _They were up._

"What was that?" Venus whipped her head around towards the house. Then the door opened and closed again. Mom.

"Guys, hide!" Leo called out loud enough so that we could only hear him as he watched Mom walk towards us with a mug of coffee in her hand. Before I could turn around to see Venus again, she was gone along with everybody else. Mikey and Raph were already behind some bushes, Donnie and Leo were scaling the swing tree, and I looked up to see Venus laying on the roof of the treehouse underneath a large, leafy branch. I ran back across the catwalk so that I didn't look suspicious and to keep from being asked why I was on it to begin with. Just as Mom was about to step onto the ramp, I rushed to the door and leaned against the doorframe, trying to block the rest of the entry with my body, she'd question me over why there were so many blankets and sleeping bags strewn everywhere if it was just me sleeping in there.

"Hi." I smiled cheekily.

"Hi," She replied back with a little confusion. "Why are you out here?"

"Didn't you read my note?" I asked as I brought my eyebrows together.

"Yeah, but is there any specific reason why you wanted to sleep out here? We didn't hear you go out the door last night."

 _Crap._ I should've thought about that. Maybe it was best that we did go back downstairs to get out.

"I—uh—was being extra quiet to make sure that I didn't wake you guys up, you looked pretty tired last night."

"Yeah… Thanks for taking that into consideration. Is everything all right?" She asked with concern.

"All right? Sure! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, it's a beautiful day—everything is peachy." Sometimes I could be a pretty good actor, this wasn't one of those times. She still looked skeptical.

"Uh-huh…" She looked me up and down. "Why don't you come in for some breakfast?"

"Okay." I nodded and closed the door behind me, she turned and started to walk back towards the house. After a few steps, I looked back over my shoulder and saw Venus peering at me through the leaves. "I'll be back." I mouthed to her as I turned back around and followed Mom. I didn't like leaving them. I knew that they were completely able to take care of themselves and that I didn't really need to worry, but I couldn't help it. I was anxious.

I had a quiet and antsy breakfast with Mom and Dad as they looked at me with an expression that almost looked like concern. This wasn't going well in my head. So I kept to myself and took quick glances out of the kitchen and towards the treehouse, trying not to be too obvious and draw attention to what I was looking at.

"Is everything okay, Jess?" Dad asked after a sip of milk.

"Yeah," I nodded, not only was my mind on hyper drive and couldn't focus on anything, my heart was about to fly out of my chest. "Just a little tired." Which wasn't a lie either. Sure I'd slept like a dead log and should be energized, but I was a little fatigued. I blamed it on the stressful night I'd had. Mom cleared her throat

"I need to go pick up your grandma from the airport today, I'll be leaving this afternoon. Her plane is supposed to land around 3:00, so I'll be leaving around 1:30. Do you want to come with me?" She asked me.

"I'll think about it." I said and took another bite out of a biscuit. Grandma travelled for her job. She's probably been to just about every major city in the country; today she was coming back from Boston… I think… and if I wanted to go, I had to make up my mind sometime soon, it was already 10:00. I needed to tell the turtles about this, I didn't exactly want to leave them alone at the house with Dad still here.

Breakfast went a little better after that, it still was tight with the tension that I was making with my nerves, but the little conversation helped with that. After cleaning up my dish, I made like a bat out of Hell back to the treehouse. They'd asked why I was going back outside and my only excuse that was convincing enough and didn't seem all that odd for me was that I needed to bring in the blankets and that I wanted to do a little drawing. Drawing was a good hobby of mine and was my escape from life; it was a good stress reliever for me. I also snuck out some cereal, the left over biscuits and bacon, a couple of bowls, napkins, and some water bottles from the garage when Mom and Dad had gone back to their room to get ready for the day.

When I got back to the treehouse, they were inside and waiting for me with all of the blankets neatly folded in a corner of the room.

"Thought you guys would be hungry, so I got what was on hand." I sat down in the center of the room and set everything out so that everyone could grab what they wanted.

"Can't thank you enough Bro! Man I'm starved." Mikey said as he plopped down next to me, reached for a box of cereal, and went to town stuffing his face with his hand; everybody sat down and went a little more _politely_ for the food than their brother.

"My mom has to go to pick my grandma up from the airport today and planning on leaving around 1:30, I'm considering on going." I said after everybody was eating.

"And…?" Raph shrugged through a mouthful of bacon.

"I know that you guys are from New York and was just putting it out there that this could be a good opportunity for you to get back home. That is, if you're done with your mission down here." I looked at Leo and opened a water bottle.

"Well, whether or not we're finished with our little mission is up to Venus. She's the one who's directing this thing." Leo nodded towards her who was looking at the pile of food in the middle of the floor with a serious and distant expression.

"I believe that this mission has been completed." She wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"What? We just started on this mission and you're saying that the very first person we encounter is this… Ayakashi of yours? Don't you think that we should look around a little more before you make your decision?" Donnie blurted with an agitated expression.

"Yes I believe that we _have_ found the Ayakashi and that fate has guided us in the right direction." She nodded and returned the agitated look to her brother.

"Did your little voodoo fish tell you that?" He tossed his head side-to-side with sass. Venus's face actually turned _red_ through her green skin making her look flustered and embarrassed.

"Yes," She mumbled. "But that is beside the point Donatello. Time is not on our side with this and we need to get back home as soon as possible. This is a wonderful opportunity and the fastest way to get back."

"She has a point." Raph pointed out. "Right now, flying _is_ the quickest way to get back. Since we lost the van—"

"Don't remind me." Donnie huffed.

"This is literally the only thing that can get us back." Raph continued. "To be honest, I kinda want to get back, don't get me wrong, this place is beautiful and all, but it just ain't doin' it for me." He looked at me with raised hands in apology.

"Are you saying you believe that little _Frankenstein_ fish-purse of hers?" Donnie snapped at him.

" _Did_ I say that?" He barked and leaned towards him.

"Ooh, tension…" Mikey added in amusement.

"You might as well have."

"Guys, enough! We don't have time to argue over things like this. She needs an answer. _Are we going to catch a plane back or not?_ " Leo intervened. The room was filled with a heavy silence that almost seemed suffocating. "Well?"

"I could find a flight _if someone had let me bring my gear._ " Donnie glared at Leo who didn't answer.

"We have a computer." I said timidly, I didn't want to get yelled at by a turtle who was in a bad mood who obviously had a coffee problem. What else would make someone that cranky?

"That'll have to work." Leo nodded.

"But I do have one question," I raised a finger and glanced around at them. "Who is this Ayakashi person?" They all glanced at each other then looked at Venus. She sighed and then placed a hand on my shoulder

"You are." She said in a serious voice. "You are the Ayakashi." I was confused. I'm only a teen girl from a little city in Kentucky, what could I do? I didn't know any sort of martial arts or fighting skills, aside from dropping out of karate as a yellow belt.

"Wait, so you're saying that I have to save the world from some weird spirit?" I blinked as my eyebrows came together in confusion.

"Yes," Venus shrugged. "Something like that." My heart began to sink into my stomach and my eyes got wide. This was no easy feat.

 _"_ _How?_ I don't know anything about spirits or ghosts—or—or fighting or saving the world. How am I the one?" I was genuinely freaking out. _"I don't know what to do."_

"That is why we are here. We did not expect someone to know anything about any of this, in fact, there are very few who do." Venus chuckled softly. "Look, I know that this is a great burden to be given and I do not expect you to take it like this was an everyday thing. If any of us were in your position, we would probably act in a very similar way."

"I wouldn't." Raph scoffed softly and got a scowl and punch in the shoulder from Leo. I could feel a lump crawling up into my throat, this was just what I needed—the huge responsibility of saving the world and most likely leaving home for a while. Even though I had no real clue, besides beating some ghost, I at least knew that saving the world wasn't going to be a joy ride and that some things were probably going to go wrong. The longer this turned and tumbled around in my head the scarier it got. I pulled my knees up to my chest and the tears built up until they began to over flow.

"Shh…" Venus soothed. "Please do not cry, I know that we have and are asking a lot from you and we are very, _very_ , thankful for all that you have done. But…" She trailed off, almost looking shameful. "But all we are asking is one more thing from you…" She shook her head in frustration. "Leo, I do not know how to word this without sounding greedy."

"Me neither…" He sighed. "We _are_ asking a lot from you and we realize that. When we first thought this over, we didn't think that something like this would happen. That the Foot would follow us and that the Ayakashi would help us when we needed it. It does sound selfish, and I'm sorry for that, I truly am, but this is something that was kinda pre-established. Ugh… I feel bad now." He rubbed his forehead with a heavy sigh.

"It's okay," I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. "Nobody can clearly predict the future. They can guess, but they can't say its set in stone." I looked up at them and rested my chin on my arms. "I just don't know how I'm gonna do this."

"Well, if there's one thing that we do know, is that it's what we're here for." Mikey winked with a warm smile.

"We never said that you had to do this alone." Donnie said as he waved his hand out to the side.

"Yes, in fact, the prophecy mentions something about the Ayakashi having mentors to guide him, or her, it is not gender specific, through their trials and that they are to be there until the end." Venus grinned. That sounded a little better than what I first assumed what they meant, at least I wouldn't be alone. I think that's what my biggest fear was; going up against something that I knew nothing about alone and defeating it all by myself. Yes, I was independent, but there are some things that just can't be done alone.

"So are you still up to it?" Leo asked.

"I guess." I shrugged and snorted loudly, wiping my nose afterwards.

"Good, now we need to figure out if we can catch a flight homeward bound." He said and looked up at Donnie.

"It really shouldn't be too hard, I mean, all you have to do is go to the airport's website and see when the next one-way is." He shrugged, he still wasn't out of his grumpy, caffeine-deprived, mood, but he was getting better. He probably wasn't an early bird either, what teenager was?

"There could be more than one though, depending on which airport you want to fly into." I looked at him over my nose. I didn't want to be the one to figure out which airports had the flights, I wanted to leave that up to them. I wasn't from New York and I had no idea which would be the one they wanted to go to, too many details for me.

"You really want me to do this, don't you?" Donnie sighed with pressed lips.

"Yeah, I don't want to be the one to book your flight." I leaned back and yawned as he scowled at me with an aggravated sigh.

"All right, you win." He rolled his eyes.

"How do you like your coffee?" I asked as I got up to go get the computer and was out of the treehouse before he could answer.


	8. Chapter 7: Bookin' Flights, Ninja Style

I walked back out with my laptop under my arm, a cup of straight black coffee for Don in one hand and a cup of my own in the other. If he was going to do this and be stubborn about it, I might as well give Donatello something that could change his rotten morning attitude. Mom and Dad were almost done getting ready whereas I was still in my PJ's with a rat's nest of greasy hair. I was nowhere near ready, but of course, it didn't take long for me to get ready. I wasn't the type that needed to primp and put on makeup, it was a mixture of not believing in makeup and laziness. I was happy with how I looked and that's how everybody should be, they need to realize how to recognize their natural beauty and not cover it up with expensive mascara, blush, eye shadow, concealer and whatever else people used. The only time I put on makeup was for school dances and when I got bored and decided to get into the Halloween makeups.

When I came back into the treehouse, they were talking and I heard my name before I opened the door, but pretended that I didn't notice as I walked in. I took a mental note of that when they all looked at me like I'd just intruded on a private and important conversation.

"Here's your coffee and the computer," I said as I handed Donnie both. "I didn't know how you liked your coffee, but I assume that you like yours black and straight."

"Yes, thanks." He nodded as he took a drink of coffee and opened up the computer. I took a long drink of mine and cringed when it didn't go down as smoothly as I wanted.

"Are you tired?" Venus asked cautiously, why was she being cautious?

"Yeah, why?" I sighed and looked at her.

"Oh, I was just wondering. It looked like you were sleeping pretty well when I got up this morning." She commented. I didn't really know how to take that one… Was it her caring how I felt or was it some weird stalker thing? Both? I hoped it was just a caring—a little observation that she noticed on her way out.

"I did, but for some reason I'm still a little sleepy." I yawned.

"Ah, well, I believe it is from all of the excitement from last night; that must have been tiring." She said with a small smile, I nodded with another sip from my coffee.

"Well, the nearest airport is the Blue Grass Airport, right? That's where you're gonna be picking your grandma up from?" Donnie asked looking over his glasses.

"Yeah, I guess so. That's where she usually aims to fly into."

"Where is she coming in from?"

"Boston."

"It's scheduled to land at 3:00." He said as he took a drink from his coffee. "And… Luckily, there's a one-way flight going to New York at terminal B4 and landing at LaGuardia around that same time."

"LaGuardia? Isn't that the one in Manhattan?" Mikey asked with a smile.

"Well, it's not quite _in_ Manhattan, but pretty close. LaGuardia Airport is on the water front and is the perfect place for us to land; it's the closest one to home and all together the best bet for us. This is a stroke of luck for us, the next one that's even going to be in route there is in about a week! I don't think that you'd be able to keep us hidden out here for that long." He looked up at me with a chuckle.

"All right then! Sounds good. Now, how are we gonna get you all there?" I asked. Then there was silence; I guess they didn't get that far with this plan. "We're going to be going in the minivan… Maybe you could fit in there somehow?"

"How? If you haven't notice, we're not exactly fun-sized." Raph pointed out. That was definitely the truth, getting five six-foot turtles into a minivan was going to be a trick.

"Well, there are two rows of back seats. One could lay on the very back seats, one on the floor in front of those seats, and the other three in the trunk?" I shrugged questioningly. "It's not gonna be comfortable, but it's the best I got. We have a truck, but the topper isn't on it and I wouldn't be able to convince Mom to take it anyways."

"I guess that's our only option." Leo sighed unenthusiastically. This wasn't going to be fun for anybody.

"Pretty much, it's the best I can do." I glanced around at them as I scratched the back of my neck with a heavy sigh.

"We are grateful with what you are doing for us, like I have said before, we can never thank you enough." Venus smiled warmly.

"You're welcome." I straightened up and popped my fingers. "So, how are we gonna catch this flight?"

"Leave that to us." Donnie said with a nod and mischievous grin.

"We're ninjas, remember? We have our ways with sneaking around places." Mikey winked and smiled.

"But really, how are you going to get past security and all? I don't think that they'll let a couple of giant turtles in the airport, much less a plane."

"We won't go into the airport itself, and, thankfully, today's going to be a fairly quiet day, we're going to go up and somehow get onto the roof and find our plane's terminal from there." Donnie shrugged.

"So who's carrying her?" Mikey asked and completely broke the conversation.

 _"Her?"_ I asked, confused again.

"Yeah, did you not get the part about you having to come with us?"

"No…" I looked at him in suspicion.

"That's the whole point of us bookin' our flight and you being the Ayakashi. You're supposed to come with us." Raph said. That would've been nice to know. Better yet, they should've made a job description for all of this. Something that should be along the lines of—

 _Ayakashi wanted! The amazingly big job of saving the world from a weird, evil spirit thing. Requirements: The capability of hiding five giant turtles for at least a day, the availability to get them back home to New York. Oh, and you_ _have to go with them._

"This would've been nice to know." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. What am I going to do about my family and friends? They're going to notice that I'm gone and freak out and probably start a huge manhunt for me. "What about everybody here? What am I going to do about keeping you guys a secret and somehow explaining my situation?"

"I can take care of that." Venus said. "Since I am Onmyodo, I can charm your mother and father so that you can successfully come with us without her immediate knowledge. It will only last for a day or so, so it will be a good idea to write a note or something that somewhat explains what you are doing."

"And what kind of charm would that be?" I asked skeptically.

"One that will make them believe that you have important business in New York, which you do, and make them think that it is nothing to be worried about. Like I said, it would be in your best interest to write a message to explain a few things in-depth." She said it as if it were no big deal. _That's a freaking big deal._ Brainwashing my parents wasn't exactly a favorite idea of mine.

"All right, whatever. Whatever. I might as well give up the idea of me keeping my right mind. This stuff is crazy!" I shook my head in surrender. My sanity was probably going to be the next thing to fly out the window, but of course, I should've recognized how crazy this was when I originally let Leo and Raph into my home last night. This is what I get for being a Good Samaritan? Okay. Why not?


	9. Chapter 8: Dear Mom and Dad

_**Chapter 8: "Dear Mom and Dad, I'm Going to New York..."**_

After a brief list of what to bring, which consisted of whatever I could fit into my satchel-purse, I went back to the house with the computer and started getting ready for my voyage. As I showered, the realization of actually leaving my family hit me.

I wasn't going to be alone, but I wasn't be with my family either. This was my first time travelling alone and not getting back home within the same day; from what it sounded like, this was going to be a visit that lasted more than that. It was probably going to be a long-term commitment that could last all summer… I didn't know if I was ready for that. I was only sixteen and going into junior year. It was so over whelming that all I could do let this out was cry, I let my tears fall with the water dripping down my face and the pelting of the shower drown out my soft sobs. I wasn't usually this emotional, but there's some things that even the toughest people can't hold in.

After I was done with my shower, I went into my room and began to empty out what I didn't need in my purse, which was a majority of it and there wasn't a lot in there to begin with. It was honestly bigger than what I needed, but it was all I really had that wasn't filthy and in tatters. So after I figured out what clothing I was going to bring (some shorts and comfortable shirts), they said not to bring a lot and that toiletries will be provided, I rummaged around my room for a few things that I wanted to bring. I picked out my bible from my bookshelf, the address book, my journal, a picture of my family, a brush, and a necklace my boyfriend gave me when we first started dating in middle school. It wasn't some big expensive necklace made out of sterling silver or anything, it was just a little quartz crystal with a little gold hook on a black string. It wasn't much, but it was one of my favorites.

On to the note…

 _Dear Mom and Dad,_

 _I'm going to gone for a while, but don't worry about me, I know it's probably impossible for you to do that though, but please don't get too concerned. There's something I have to take care of up in New York, something that's really important. I'm in good hands and I'm doing this by my own choice. If this isn't taken care of now, then it's going to come back and kick us in the pants pretty hard in the long run. Trust me on this. I can't tell you who I'm with or why I'm going right now, but I will be back. Don't worry, I'll write… Or I'll at least try to find some way to communicate with you, whatever that will be._

 _Tell everybody that I love them and that I'll miss them and you a whole lot while I'm gone._

 _Love,_

 _Jessie_

 _P.S. Please_ DO NOT _call the police or report me missing. Because I'm not._ J

I folded it up as I sniffed when my nose began to run and as a tear rolled down my cheek. This was probably going to make them freak out but all I could do was pray that they'd understand and trust me. I really hoped that Venus's thing would work. It was about 12:30 now and all I could think about was this afternoon, how we were going to get on a plane, avoid security, and get to their home, wherever that was. I yawned as I walked downstairs from my room with the note in hand, I placed it in between the salt and pepper shakers on the kitchen table, somewhere they could find it but discreet enough to avoid immediate attention. Some place where they'll find it eating dinner or something.

I couldn't sit still, the anticipation of sneaking the turtles in and slipping past security ran through my head a thousand times and different scenarios along with them. What if we did get caught? What then? How exactly are we going to catch the plane and where are we going to fly on it? We obviously can't fly on deck since we didn't have tickets and they wouldn't let giant turtles on board. That'd land them somewhere else other than the sewers of New York, like an operating table in some science lab. Oh, how was I even going to keep my sanity until we left home? I was ready to lose it now, although that wouldn't exactly be favorable. Maybe I could lose my mind a little later…

I ended up pacing my way back outside into the summer heat. The thing with Kentucky was that the weather could swing to the extremes, blizzards in the winter and sticky, blistering heat in the summer; thankfully, it wasn't the hottest day ever, but it still wasn't balmy. I knew that the treehouse could get stuffy, especially in warm weather, so that drew me back outside to check on them. I didn't know if it was curiosity or some kind of anxiety, whatever it was, it was on hyper drive. I couldn't leave them alone. I felt like a creeper, not exactly a feeling I enjoyed.

I went back into the treehouse to find everybody still there with the back door standing wide open to let in a breeze doing various things. Leo was in one a corner next to the back door sharpening one of his long swords with a wet stone and water bottle, going across the edge in long strokes and making an intimidating scraping sound that sent shivers down my spine, Donnie was replacing the gauze dressing on his leg, which looked a little inflamed, but nonetheless seemed to be doing well, Raph was snoozing against a wall, Mikey was laying on the floor, fidgeting with his nunchucks in boredom, Raph was snoozing against a wall, and Venus nowhere to be found in the treehouse.

"Where's Venus?" I asked casually, even though my nervousness suggested otherwise.

"She's out on the zip line platform meditating." Leo said as he inspected his sword's edge.

"What for?"

"She does it all the time, it's a regular thing of hers. She says she meditates to clear her mind and such… And claims it keeps her sane." Mikey said as he twirled his nunchuck above his head and looked over at me lazily. "Why? Is it time to go?"

"Not quite, it's about noon right now. We have about another hour and a half until we need to start loading up." I sighed as I took off my purse, sat down on the floor and fluffed up my damp head of hair, which always took a while to dry. "Just curious, any idea what Venus is meditating on?"

"Probably the whole Ayakashi thing, that's what she's been focusing on lately." Leo huffed as a small grin grew across his face. "It's what we _all_ have been focusing on lately." He reached back and sheathed the sword and went on to the next one.

I nodded and leaned back on my hands and looked at Donnie.

"How's your leg doin' Sour Puss?" I smiled.

"Well, it has a fever and is a little inflamed," He said as he began to wrap the ace bandage back around his leg. "But nothing that isn't too unexpected for something like this Dr. Glue." He shot back with a smirk.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that, Don." Mikey stopped twirling his 'chuck and looked back at his brother from the floor with a disappointed face.

"Try…" Leo put down his wet stone to think. "Sticker."

"Sticker?" I chuckled. "Why?"

"Because you were sticking Band Aids on us like a kid with a sticker book last night," Leo laughed as he laid his sword down on his lap. "One here, five there…"

"I can see that." I nodded as I made sense of the name.

"Eh, I still think we can do better." Mikey said and put an arm underneath his head.

"Well, if you're so great with names, where's your suggestion?" Donnie asked him.

"I don't have one yet," Mikey said without looking back at him. "I need to get to know her better." He stuck out his lip and started playing with his nunchuck again.

"But you spent literally all night with me last night." I raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Yeah, well—that was just conversation, I'll come up with one when you actually start _living_ with us."

"Just conversation." I murmured to myself with a small chuckle as I shook my head. I got up and walked out the back door and to the zip line platform and around the tree in the middle of it and sat down quietly next to Venus, who was sitting on the edge of the platform that over looked the rest of the forest with her legs crossed, hands on her thighs, and eyes closed.

"Hello." She said softly without opening her eyes.

"Hey," I said in a low voice as I started to play a leaf that was next to me. "I—"

"Am very nervous. I understand why and you have every right to be. It is a lot to ask," She opened her eyes and looked at me solemnly. "But this has to be done; I cannot thank you enough for doing this."

"Yeah…" I sighed. "I have no clue what I'm really supposed to do or how I'm going to do it. I've never really been out of state without someone from my family being with me, especially for a long time, which sounds like what I'm going to be doing." I fingered the leaf and looked out over the tree covered hill. "Venus, _I'm_ _scared_." I confessed. It was an honest statement that I almost never used seriously. Confessing that I was scared was a huge thing for me, I always liked to think that I was stronger and braver than most people my age.

"I know," She nodded and looked down at her hands as she flexed them. "I would be too…" She looked back up and out over the hill and chuckled. "In fact, I am right now; this is something that none of us are very comfortable with. The idea of a Mononoke taking over New York and causing chaos is not a nice one."

"Mononoke?" I looked at her, in confusion on what she meant.

"A vengeful and evil spirit whose sole purpose is to cause catastrophe and chaos, the thing that the Ayakashi is supposed to defeat."

"Oh, so this thing actually has a name." I nodded.

"Mononoke is actually just a title, but it does have a name, that is what I was meditating on. It is tricky, I have not been able to actually establish a name, it is foggy and illegible, but it does have one. I also have a hunch that it is something that is connected to us in some way, but I cannot pin point that either." She explained.

"That's comforting." I with unenthusiastic sarcasm and looked back down the hill.

"No kidding," She huffed and sighed. "I am going to tell you this now, it is not going to be easy."

"I figured." I sniffed and glanced up at the green canopy of leaves. "What exactly—what is the criteria for the Ayakashi?"

"The Ayakashi has to be someone who is brave but not bigheaded about it, bold—not afraid to be oneself I guess, wise, or at least not too terribly ignorant, loyal, creative which you have already displayed that with treating Donatello," She smiled at me, making me blush. "Strong in spirit, and, get this, somewhat stubborn." She chuckled. "I have no idea why that is a characteristic, but that is what the prophecy says." I snickered along with her at the statement; most of the time, being stubborn isn't always the best thing when working with a group.

"Where did this _prophecy_ even come from?" I asked as I draped my legs over the edge of the platform and let them swing.

"I assume that Mikey explained my origins to you." She asked as she lowered her head and looked at me sideways with a raised eyebrow in question.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Then you know that I was the fifth who wandered off and was found by an Onmyodo Sage and raised in Japan as a student and his daughter, right?" She asked and I nodded in confirmation; this was like a story time or something. "Well, Onmyodo is a secret and ancient practice of magic, alchemy, and spiritual strengthening. We are educated through sacred texts, meditation, and apprenticeships from Sages who have mastered Onmyodo. We help them with whatever they need and, in turn, they teach us the ways of Onmyodo."

"Like an internship?"

"In a sense, yes. Only Onmyodo apprentices are "assigned" a master at a very young age by their parents or a local shaman. In my case I was literally raised by my master, so I guess you could say that I started at a very, _very_ young age." She chuckled.

"So this makes me your apprentice… Except I'm starting really late… Right?" I asked as I tried to piece everything together.

"Something like that." She shrugged. "Only I am not going to be a parental figure like most masters, I will be more of a sister. We are pretty much the same age, it would be odd to have someone the same age as you to have the higher authority of an elder." At least she was aiming to be fair. She'd still have to be a teacher, whether she liked it or not, and have to have some kind of authority over me. Venus had literally spent her whole life learning this stuff I knew didily squat about this whole meditation-magic thing, how was I supposed to learn an almost lifetime's worth of skills within—what—a month? This was going to be a trip within itself, not counting everything else.

"So how did you find the guys all the way from Japan?"

"My master was meditating one day and sensed them through the Universal Common. At that point I was about fifteen, so approximately two years ago, and he was very sick and he knew that his time was coming to an end and said to me: "Mei Pieh Chi, you must go to New York and find these turtles that are like you." Before I went and he died, I had to find them myself through the UC to know what I was looking for." She said with a sniff. "So once I located them, I set off to find them. At first it was awkward to be around them, they did not know what to make of me and I did not know what to make of them. Firstly I had never really been exposed to American culture, so I did not know how to act around them and fit into their, I guess, "cultural norm," She motioned quotations with her fingers. "Even though it is a rather small culture. Secondly, I had never really been around boys, especially _giant turtle boys_ ; there were boys in the Onmyodo community that I was raised in, but nothing like them. The boys I grew up with were always reserved and disciplined… Now the guys—I assume you can guess the answer to that one." She smiled at me and I nodded in recognition that these guys were nowhere _near_ reserved and let out a huge yawn; why was I so tired? She glanced around momentarily, almost looking guilty of something, but she cleared her throat and continued. "So going from the quiet mountains in Japan to noisy New York was quite a shocking change."

"I bet! Going to the Big Apple probably will be kinda like that for me, out here, it's pretty quiet and peaceful. I've been to New York before, it was fun and all, but I preferred the more quiet setting of Kentucky." I shrugged. "Nothing like My Old Kentucky Home."

"Jessie?" I heard Mom call from across the yard; I whipped around and looked towards the house. "Come on and get ready, it's about time to go."

"Uh—I-I'll be right there!" I yelled from the platform as Venus and I glanced sideways at each other. I jumped up from my seat and ran back across the catwalk and into the treehouse where the four others looked at me expectantly.

"Get your stuff together, it's about time to pack up." I said as I stooped down, grabbed my purse from the floor and swung it over my head and across my shoulder.

"How much time do we have?" Leo asked.

"Depending on how fast Mom is moving, anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. All I can really tell you is to keep an eye on what we're doing."

"That's real specific." Raph huffed and crossed his arms with a sour face.

"Well, it won't be my fault if we get out a late. Mom has a reputation of being fashionably late, but since we're heading out two hours before the plane is supposed to land, we shouldn't be in any trouble in terms of catching our flight." I shrugged and then yawned _again_. What the heck was up with me? Why am I so tired?

"What about seating arrangements?" Mikey asked, still laying on the floor, only on his stomach.

"I'll leave that up to you guys, my only thing is that you stick to the very back—second row of back seats and the trunk." I said as I waved my hand below my waist. "I don't know how to fit giant turtles into tight spaces."

There was heavy, and rather upset, silence. None of us were exactly enthused about trying to squish into a minivan that only held eight _normal_ people, not five mutants that equaled about a human and a half _each_. I just hoped that they could do it—but they're also ninjas, so fitting into tight spaces is in the job description, right?


	10. Chapter 9: What Kind of Security is this

The whole time I was waiting on Mom I was a tired, nervous wreck. I was yawning like it was going out of style and pacing like I'd had too much caffeine and nowhere to run it off, I felt like I was going to walk a rut right into her bedroom's floor. She was in the bathroom working on last minute primps and preparations; since I don't wear makeup on a regular basis, I didn't have to worry about things like that. But the longer she took, the worse I got, time was not my friend. After about another five minutes, which felt like an hour, she was finally done.

"Ready to go?" She asked, walking out of the bathroom and stopping my pacing right as I was about to run into her.

"Yes! Why'd you take so long?" I asked, not trying to sound demanding, but that's what my tone suggested.

"I was just finishing up…" She looked at me skeptically over her nose. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I just…" I yawned. "Stayed up too late last night."

"Uh-huh…" She nodded, still unconvinced.

Are we leaving now or what?" I urged.

I beat Mom to the van, but only by a few seconds. I had just enough time to ask

"Everybody good?"

"Yeah." I got in whispers as Venus popped her head up from the back seat, we made eye contact through the rear view mirror and she ducked back down behind the seats when Mom opened the driver's side door. Before Mom could notice that I was looking at the back, I started rummaging around in my bag for my sunglasses, trying to keep my clothing from being seen as I dug to the bottom of the black hole known as my purse. Once I found and put them on, I pulled down the visor mirror and pretended to fix my hair when I was actually looking in the rear view, checking to see if my "hitch hikers" were doing okay. They were going to be on my mind the whole drive to the airport, or at least more so than what they already were.

We set out of the drive way and took the journey down the old, curvy, back road and out onto the interstate. I watched the trees and cars pass by as we drove, consistently glancing in the mirror at the back seats through my sunglasses. I eventually ditched that habit as my eyes got heavy and I began to nod off.

I was floating. Floating in pure darkness. It wasn't a cold and scary darkness, it was a comforting and strangely relaxing darkness; like I was wrapped in a big, heavy blanket. I then slowly drifted downward and gently landed on my feet. Nothing was going through my mind, it was completely empty.

"Ayakashi," A booming voice said, not coming from any specific direction. "You have been chosen by one of the only surviving Onmyodo. You shall be great and powerful in your tests of strength and bravery. Nothing will stand in your way as long as you have faith in yourself, your comrades, and your family. Now go, young Ayakashi, learn who you are destined to be and make yourself worthy of your title!"

I started to fall and then woke up with a snort as Mom patted my hand to wake me up.

"Wake up, we're here." She said as we pulled into the entrance of the Bluegrass Airport.

"Oh yeah…" I said with a yawn and stretched until my back popped. I glanced at the clock, saying it was 2:30, then looked up at the mirror and saw Venus's, Mikey's, and Leo's heads pop up from behind the seats with wide and questioning eyes.

 _Psst._ I heard a voice say inside my head. _Do not say anything, it is just me, Venus._ I stiffened in my seat as she continued to talk. _I am going to start to cast that charm on your mom now, it will be completely functional by the time we are ready to sneak out._

 _How are you in my head?_ I asked as I glanced around the van nervously.

 _The Universal Common; remember how I said it connects everything?_ She sounded annoyed. _That is how—but enough about that, just be ready to go when we say to, okay?_

I wrinkled my nose in distaste at her snappy command. I turned to look at Mom, who was driving quietly, for any signs that suggested whether anything was changing. When we stopped at a stoplight past the airport's main gate, I saw her stiffen and her eyes widen from behind her big sunglasses, then she relaxed with a small sigh and went on when the light changed to green.

 _She is now unaware that you are here…_ Venus said solemnly. I began to sniffle. _She cannot see you now. She thinks that you are at home._

My own mother didn't know that I was right next to her anymore. She couldn't see me. I was invisible.

 _Will I be able to say goodbye to her?_ I thought as tears began to roll down my face.

 _No…._ Venus said in a depressed voice. _I am afraid not._

Then the tears really came. Not only could she not see me, I couldn't even say goodbye to her before I left to go on this crazy adventure. Who knows how long I'll be gone? Would I even _come back?_ So many questions began to pop up in my head that I wanted to scream, but if I did, then somebody else might notice. I bent forward and whimpered into my hands, the fact that I was going someplace thousands of miles away from home without my parents even knowing that I was leaving just tore a huge, gaping hole right through my heart. I fumbled around the front seat to for a napkin and a marker, once found, I wrote

 _I love you guys so much. Please have faith in me that I'll come back._

 _-Jess_

I finished the note and placed it on the middle console just as we came around to the pickup/drop off lane in front of the airport entrance. Thankfully, it wasn't a very busy day. I wiped my eyes and nose with the back of my hand as Mom got out of the car like it was any other day. I sat there and watched her as she went around the front of the van and into the sliding glass doors of the building. I sighed shakily and turned around to the back to find all five turtles looking over the backs of the seats.

"What now?" I asked, pushing my sunglasses up on top of my head.

"Well, it's a good thing that there isn't many people here today." Leo commented as he looked out the side window, he was one of the ones who squished into the trunk along with Donnie and Mikey.

"But if there _were_ more people here, we are less likely to be noticed." Donnie held up a finger as he got looks of confusion at his statement. "I know it sounds crazy, but if there was a crowd, we could probably go unnoticed within all of the chaos of people coming and going. Think about it, everybody would be preoccupied with finding rides and catching their flights than focusing on what all is going on around them. But right now, there's more open space and less things to catch their attention, they will look around and study their surroundings." We all continued to stare at him like he was out of his right mind. "Just saying, we could probably use that for future reference." He shrugged casually. He probably knew that there was no arguing with Leo on his theory, even though it made _some_ sense.

"Yeah, like we're going to travel the world like a bunch tourists." Raph huffed as he got up from the floor in between the two rows of seats, sat next to Venus, and looked at his brother in annoyance. Donnie scowled at him and stuck out his lip.

"Whether or not there's a bunch of people, we have a plane to catch." Leo looked around at everybody as he talked.

"So how are we gonna get to the plane?" Mikey asked, resting his head on the back of the seats.

"We're going to climb one of the pillars and onto the roof," Leo plotted as he squinted out the windows on either side of the van. "From there, we're going to take the roof and find our plane… I have a feeling that'll be the tricky part."

"All we have to do is find terminal B and we should be able to get to our plane from there." Donnie piped in.

"But do you know where that is?" Raph asked.

"N-no… But once we figure out where the surrounding terminals are located, then it should be pretty easy to find ours."

"So are we going or not? It's getting stuffy in here." Mikey complained.

"Yes." I said as I turned back around, grabbed my purse, and climbed out of the passenger seat.

"Be ready to go as soon as you open the trunk." Leo called as I shut the door behind me.

 _Act cool,_ I thought as I pulled my sunglasses back down onto my face, hoping that it'd help me look more like a regular person who was just minding their own business. _There isn't anything sketchy about me. I'm not opening up the trunk to let out a few giant turtles, just getting out some luggage that strongly resembles that._

I opened the trunk door and before I could even push it up for extra clearance, three bodies whizzed past me. Seconds later, I was grabbed by the wrist as the other two flew out of the van, the door slamming behind the last. I was then flung over a shoulder and slammed into a shell; I gripped the edge of it, knowing that if I didn't, I'd probably end up on the ground with _at_ _least_ a bruised butt. Before I knew it, we were ten feet up a pillar and closing in fast on the roof. I was on Raph's shell and at the very end of a line of shells. We steadily made our way up the thirty foot pillar and onto the hot, metal roof of the loading lane. I dropped down off of Raph's shell and stood next to him as everybody began to scope the roof top.

"If I'm not mistaken, the order of terminals usually starts with A over there." Donnie squinted and pointed to the far left corner of the building. "So that means B should be there." We followed his hand as it moved to the next extension of the roof.

"How are we for sure?" Raph asked as he put on a pair of black sunglasses.

"We're not; all we can really do is guess. I think the only way we can guarantee that is by looking at luggage tags." Leo said as he shaded his eyes from the glare of the metal roofing.

"Isn't that a little risky?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's all we got."

That was the truth. The only way of figuring out which plane is which is by looking at where the luggage was going; it seemed simple enough, but dangerous. If we did that, we would risk the chance of being seen by the ground staff and possibly anybody else inside the airport. I'm not usually a negatron, but I'd rather not go to jail and have my friends end up on a dissection table. No thanks!

"All right." I shrugged with an uncertain yawn as we began walking towards our terminal.

"Ooh, sneakin' around an airport like secret agents." Mikey said with his white sunglasses on and his hands out to his sides with a smile, acting like we were on some kind of mission that the world depended on and failing would be devastating, which was pretty much the whole point of catching this flight. "Secret Agent Michelangelo and his trusty band of agents that always have his back." He started walking backwards with his arms still out like he was ready for an ambush that had been set up by his arch nemesis.

"All right Agent 007, that's enough," Leo said over his shoulder. "We have to focus on not being seen."

 _"_ _We have to focus on not being seen,"_ He mocked his brother by opening and closing his hand, making it talk in a small, nasally voice. "Party pooper." He grumbled softly and crossed his arms as he pouted.

Then Venus looked over her shoulder at the sky, studying it with suspicion.

"Something is not right…" She said as she squinted and followed a plane with her eyes. "I sense a strong, tainted soul." She then looked at the terminal and started to run towards it.

"Venus, wait!" Leo called as he started to run after her with Mikey and Donnie trailing after him.

"Think you can keep up?" Raph asked, looking down at me.

"I play soccer, running isn't a problem for me." I grinned and picked up a jogging start and went into a sprint to catch up to the others, leaving Raph in the dust. Even though I was still tired, I found a spurt of energy and closed in on the four ahead of me, purse banging on the side of my leg like a bouncy ball.

 _Strange,_ I thought. _I don't remember being this fast._ Even though I didn't really have a scale for my speed or a solid comparison to the turtles, I felt like I was faster than what I last remembered. But of course, the last time I really ran like this was in the spring during gym class while playing ultimate Frisbee. I then heard heavy footsteps approaching behind me as Raph zoomed past me. Feeling like he was challenging me, I pushed myself even harder and caught up to him.

"Think you can get away with it that easily?" I panted out as I barely came up next to him. He gave me a dark grin and chuckled

"Looks like you're running out of steam there, kid." He was running effortlessly beside me, not even out of breath yet. I was a sprinter and wasn't all that good at long distance, so I was almost wheezing; plus my stamina had definitely gone down since the end of the school year.

"Well…" I gasped. "You're not exactly… The fastest one… Either." He scowled at me through his sunglasses as his nostrils flared; I hit a nerve.

"You're the one to talk," He snarled. "I got a late start."

"Excuses." I panted under what little breath I had in my lungs. We started to slow down when Venus stopped at a terminal with a plane docked next to it.

"The soul is in there," She pointed at the roof under her feet. "It is going to be on our plane. It is going to New York too." She panted.

"Are you positive?" Donnie asked skeptically.

"Yes," She said with nod. "It is so strong that I did not even have to access the Universal Common to understand its immediate intentions or location. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Why are you going on about this? It ain't our problem." Raph said crossly as I was wheezing with my hands on my knees, trying to find my breath again. Man, was I out of shape. Venus then turned around and stared at her brother with agitation, but had no valid argument.

"Sorry Vee, we can't afford to go after this one." Leo said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "But we have—what—about fifteen minutes until departure?" He looked at Donnie in question.

"Yeah, the plane is supposed to leave at 2:55. So the passengers are probably starting to board now, and…" Donnie moved closer to the edge of the roof and peered down at the luggage buggies. "The ground staff should be packing the bags right now." He looked back up in satisfaction at his observation. _"That's_ how we're gonna fly."

"In the cargo bay?" I exclaimed.

"Yup," He nodded. "It's the best place for us to ride in terms of safety, hiding, and comfort. It's pressurized, just like the cabin, the temperature is somewhat controlled, if it wasn't then whatever liquids in the suit cases would freeze and that wouldn't be good, and it's big enough to hold all of us comfortably."

"Makes sense." Mikey shrugged in agreement.

"But how are we gonna get down there without being seen?" I asked.

"We're going to try our best." Leo said simply.

"Our best?" I looked at him in disbelief. This was probably the most important part of this trip, getting onto the plane without being seen. That's his plan? Just a simple "try our best"? Whatever happened to the elaborate plan that was concocted for getting up onto the roof? There was an _actual_ plan for that, but not this? _What the heck?_

"Yes," He looked at me, almost surprised. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Um, kinda." I started, walked up to his side, and put a hand on my chin. Agitation. "There was this huge, strategic plan to get up onto this roof but not one to get down onto the tarmac without being seen? Isn't this the most important part of getting to New York? If we get caught here, the security _will_ get us and there's really no place to hide down there." I threw my hands out in front of me towards the plane. "Are you _sure_ just doing our best is the best thing you can come up with?"

"Oh ye of little faith," He chuckled in amusement and gently touched my shoulder. "Sometimes simpler is better."

"But do you _seriously_ think that now simpler is better?" I was getting mad now.

"I don't see why not." He shrugged. I glared at him through my sunglasses; I didn't know about him, but I'd rather not go to prison for trespassing.

"Are you seriously going along with this?" I asked everybody else.

"Hey, I've seen his simple plans work beautifully and some of the complicated ones completely flop. Sometimes he's wrong, but most of the time he's right." Donnie shrugged. This wasn't going well for my side of the argument.

"Calm down Sis, everything's gonna be fine." Mikey smiled reassuringly.

 _Yeah, say that when we get caught._ I thought as I crossed my arms and blew a piece of hair out of my face.

I looked back down at the little buggies with moving belts that carried the suitcases and bags up into the belly of the plane, there were about five guys in hardhats, bright yellow vests, and ear plugs sorting the bags from the buggies and onto the belt. If we could do this right, _without getting ourselves killed_ , then we could sneak right by them and safely into the plane. But that was the hard part. How would we sneak past them without being noticed by the workers _and_ whoever was watching inside?

"All right guys, free reign of how to get there, just don't get spotted and do it quickly." Leo said as he looked out at what was beneath us.

"Who am I with?" I asked timidly. I couldn't jump off of something like this with hard asphalt at the bottom, I'd end up like a bug on a windshield— _splat!_

"I guess you can go with me again." Raph said from behind me.

"Are you sure? I don't want to slow you down."

"Did it seem like you slowed me down before? I can easily carry you." He smiled. "My only condition is that you don't scream in my ears, no choking or digging your nails into me."

"I'll try…" I said meekly.

Raph turned around and bent down so I could piggy back. Once I was up, and straddling uncomfortably across his wide shell, I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck as he held on to what little of my legs were left sticking out over the sides of the giant thing on his back and took a running leap off of the roof as the others followed him. I ended up letting go of his neck and digging my nails into his shell and wrapping my ankles around his waist as we landed with a thud, knocking the air out of my lungs, _right_ after I'd found it again. Immediately after we landed, Raph dashed to the front set of landing gear under the plane and scoped out where to go to next. Leo and Venus were on top of the plane's right wing which was next to the loading buggy, Donnie was under the extended walkway behind some traffic barrels, and Mikey was already making his way towards the buggy.

"He's gonna get himself caught." Raph whispered as we watched him hide under the belt that was carrying the last of the luggage into the plane and peek out at the workers. When they all had their backs turned, he happily hopped onto the belt, sat down, and rode it up into the plane and rolled off backwards into the dark cargo hold. "But he's also done things like that before and gotten away with it." Raph sighed.

"Wow, these guys literally don't pay attention to _anything_." I said quietly.

"Huh, no kidding."

Next, Leo and Venus jumped onto the belt and watched the workers with caution as they rode the belt and into the bowels of the plane. We then ran to a back set of landing gear and crouched behind them, opposite of the workers. The last of the luggage was being loaded, so we were running out of time. I looked back at Donnie who was making his way over next to us and behind the other set of gear. Raph nodded at Donnie and turned and ran to the buggy and crouched underneath that. I could smell the hot rubber of the belt and the tar from the asphalt with a mixture of jet fuel; then the engines of the plane turned on, sending a gust of wind right at us. Raph grabbed the side of the loading belt and swung up onto it and sprinted inside. It wasn't but a few seconds later when Donnie popped in.

"Man, the guys here suck at security." Don huffed as a smile grew across his face.

"Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't see _you_ , Mikey, when you just sat down and rode that thing up." Leo exclaimed with a grin.

"You gotta have fun when you see the opportunity for it." Mikey sighed, put his hands behind his head in pride and plopped next to a huge, floral print suitcase. I slid off of Raph's shell and came up next to him; it was then when realized I was probably at least a foot shorter than him, me being my little 5'6" self.

"Hey," I said in a softer tone and put out a fist. "Thanks." I stepped out to the side of him and looked up at him.

"No problem." He smiled warmly and softly pounded my fist bump. "Ain't that what big brothers are for?" I smiled back at him.

"All right guys, time to issue out the oxygen." Donnie said and turned to Venus. "We won't be taking off for another few minutes, but when that hatch closes, it'll be pretty dark in here."

Venus was now digging through a shoulder bag of some sort… Was that a fish? One hand was holding the top lip of what looked like a very colorful, well loved, and patched up coy fish with button eyes and a zipper mouth. I squinted at her in confusion as the bag that was no bigger than a forearm almost completely swallow her entire arm. It almost looked uncomfortable as her whole arm was down its throat and moving around in its belly. Venus was wearing a face of growing frustration as she pressed her lips together as she dug further and further into the fish.

"Sushi, where did you put them?" She mumbled as she opened the fish's mouth even wider to look down inside of it, making it almost look like it was in pain. Then what really got me was when she stuck her face in the bag; what bag was big enough to completely swallow someone's arm when it was only half that length? "Ah ha!" She exclaimed as she pulled out three big makeshift, full-faced gas masks and handed them to Donnie and then plunged her arm back down into the bag and pulled out three more.

 _"_ _What is that?"_ I whispered to Raph. I was completely shocked with the little bag of Venus's.

"That's Sushi, the voodoo bag." Raph leaned down and whispered. "It's like Mary Poppins's bag, she can pull almost anything out of it. Those oxygen masks are one of the smaller things that've come out of that thing, it gives me the creeps."

"I-I remember Donnie got upset over something like that when we were figuring out our flight. Is that what he meant?"

"Yup, apparently, it can do more than just hold a bunch of things. I haven't seen it do anything else than be her purse, but it supposedly talks or something. I think she can have a few loose screws from time to time."

 _I know I will by the time this whole thing is over._ I thought as I rolled my eyes and sighed.

Apparently the masks, which were modified motorcycle helmets, were made specifically for each turtle, color coded to match their masks and even decorated. They were cut out so you could actually see their faces and wasn't like some creepy WWII goggled, bulky thing that would haunt little kids' with nightmares. They looked pretty cool.

"Here." Donnie handed me the only remaining helmet. This one was elaborately painted with yellow Japanese symbols and brightly colored graffiti, it'd look brand new if it didn't have a big scratch and paint that tried to cover it across the top.

"Wow," I turned it over in my hands so I could look at the amazing paint job. "Who did all of this?"

"It was kind of a combination from all of us." He smiled and rubbed the back of his head in flattery.

"Ooh! I did that big one on the back of it!" Mikey hopped with a huge grin.

"I did all of the Japanese inscriptions around the face." Venus added in.

"We all chipped in." Leo smiled.

"I did the finish." Raph commented as he pushed his helmet down onto his head, acting like he was too cool to smile about it.

"Well, I think you guys did a beautiful job." I nodded in recognition and smiled. I looked over it once more then tried to put it on, but it was too small. "Uh—it's too small."

"No it isn't," Donnie said as I handed it back to him; he turned it over and fiddled with something underneath the chin. "Try it now. It's supposed to be a pretty snug fit since it's pressurized with a respirator." He handed it back to me and I tried to press it down on my head. It got a little farther down on my head, but stopped at my forehead. I looked at him and blinked, silently asking for help. With a small sigh, he came over behind me and pushed on it and it slipped on with a grunt from both of us.

I twisted it around a little so that it faced the right way then the sound of hissing air filled the helmet as it pressurized and I froze as an overwhelming mirage of green icons zoomed around in front of my eyes. They flew all over the place, analyzing all of the bags around me, identifying everyone, bringing up my _vital signs_ , presenting the temperature and weather, it was like a computer just puked all kinds of random information on the inside of my helmet. After a few seconds, they stopped moving and placed themselves on the sides of the holographic screen and then a huge display of _"SAFETY ANALYSIS COMPLETE—NO THREATS DETECTED"_ appeared in the middle of the screen as a little jingle played in my ears and disappeared.

"That's the computer system," Donnie chuckled as he squeezed his head into his helmet. "You can listen to music," His voice then came in over a radio inside the helmet. "Watch videos, and even play little games in it while we're flying, it also comes with a completely functional GPS and tracking system, that'll come in handy a little later."

"Geez, how much time did you put into this?" I asked after a few blinks as I tried to put my suddenly scrambled brain back together.

"Once I got the system programmed, it didn't take much time to build and complete each helmet. The total time _I_ spent on each is about four or five hours, the art work obviously took longer, but that was kinda up to everybody's own speed on customization."

"You have a lot of free time back in New York, don't you?" I asked with pressed lips.

"Y-yes…" He rubbed his arm nervously.

 _Figures. You'd have to have a_ ton _of extra time on your hands to make six helmets like this._ I sighed as I found a comfortable looking suitcase and sat down on it as my fatigue found me again.

By this time, everybody had their helmets on and the muffled sound the screaming engines powering up seeped through my helmet. The cargo door was starting to close, so Venus then reached into Sushi and pulled out three industrial sized glow sticks and continued to crack them on her thigh, and threw them on the floor, making them glow bright yellow.

"All right guys," Leo sighed as he found a mound of suitcases and sat down on them. "Looks like we might as well make ourselves comfortable."

"We probably have about four hours of flying once we get off the ground." Donnie added. "Once we start _moving_ , which will be within the next ten minutes or so."

"Fine by me." Mikey sighed as he crossed his ankles and leaned even further back on his suitcase seats.

Raph slid down onto the floor next to me, making him a little over eye level with me, I was about six inches off of the floor on the suitcase. It felt like I'd just hit a brick wall, I was dead tired now; I leaned back against the pile of suitcases and bags behind me and sighed.

"Tired?" He asked, looking at me.

"Very." I nodded as I yawned and cracked my back and slipped my bag off.

"Well, now would be the perfect time to take a nap." He said softly.

"Uh-huh," I sighed. "I might use you as a pillow, that okay?"

"Sure." He looked away and studied the dark belly of the plane. I scooted down and put my head on his wide shoulder and sighed again. At this point, I didn't even question why I was tired anymore; I just went along with it. As the plane began to backup from the building, my eye lids began to get heavy and by the time we were airborne, I was out.


	11. Chapter 10: Thank You for Flying

_**Chapter 10: Thank You for Flying Air Turtle**_

This time I didn't dream. It was just a solid, dark, dreamless sleep—I was probably too tired to dream. I was out of the physical and mental world, a void of comfortable darkness and it felt like it would go on forever. It was blissful until I was gently shaken awake on the shoulder by a large, cool hand.

"Hey, time to wake up." Raph said softly. I groaned and rolled over onto my other side only to fall and hit the suitcase with a _whump_.

"Ugh," I mumbled as I sat up, reaching up to rub my eyes only to run into the glass on my helmet. "We close?" I yawned and stretched.

"The GPS says that we're about a mile out from the airport, so we'll need to get ready to drop." Leo said, looking at me.

"Wait, what do you mean by _drop?"_ I asked, immediately perking up.

"We have to get off this plane somehow, right? Getting off at the airport is too risky and would just add unnecessary travel on the trip home, so the only real way of getting off is by skydiving." He explained.

 _"_ _Skydiving?"_ I squeaked in disbelief. How are we supposed to land?

"Yup, it's the only logical and the safest way to exit the plane." Donnie said with a shrug.

"Please tell me that we have _something_ that'll prevent us from going splat."

"Oh yes! If we didn't have a landing device, then we all would die from the surface tension on the water, it'd be like falling onto solid concrete. I've thought this through, I'm not crazy."

"He is." Raph whispered under his breath as he pushed himself up from the floor.

"That's comforting." I mumbled as I grabbed my purse and got up from the suitcase and walked over to the others, who now were standing in a circle around the glow sticks. "So where are these _landing devices?"_ I asked as I put my hands on my hips and leaned on one leg. Venus tossed me a large, dirty, rough looking, patched backpack with various straps attached to it. "Is this another one of your homemade inventions?" I asked Donnie, looking at him skeptically.

"Yes, and they're completely functional." He said as he put a hand on his chest, looking confident in his statement.

"What kind of device is this?" I asked.

"Are you sure? There's no place around New York that you could've tested them." Mikey smirked, immediately popping his brother's prideful bubble.

 _"_ _Mikey, I'm trying to be positive here."_ He hissed through his teeth, making Mikey giggle at his accomplishment. "They're collapsible parasails, you're helmet computer will set a course to follow to get to our landing spot, which is already programmed into it." His little side comment only freaked me out more, he _hadn't_ tested them out yet. He didn't know if they would actually be able to withstand the wind resistance or anything for that matter. I swallowed as I nervously stepped into the harnesses and straps attached to the backpack and glanced wearily up at everyone as they did the same with theirs, which were, obviously, tailored personally and differently than mine because of their size. My backpack was a little loose, but when I shoved my purse in behind my back and did a few clever wraps around my body, it fit snugly like any harness should.

"So… How are we getting out again?" I asked, then a series of green images popped up on the screen inside my helmet, showing the possible exit routes, most of which required busting a hole through the hull of the plane and causing unneeded damage, but the top option was to go through the cargo hatch.

"Through the cargo hatch." Donnie said simply.

"How? The door is too big, everything would be sucked out and probably give us a surprise and, probably, a rough exit."

"If you notice, there's a smaller door inside that hatch, specifically made for workers who accidently get trapped in while organizing the luggage." He pointed to the door, which was actually there and marked with yellow and black tape with a large yellow handle in the middle of it.

"Oh."

"Everybody ready?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Venus and Donnie said simultaneously.

"Yeah." Raph said as he cracked his knuckles with a dark smile.

"Yup." Mikey chirped with excitement.

"As I ever will be." I said in a small voice. Than another thought hit me. "How do I fly this thing?"

"The computer will instruct you." Donnie said as Leo held the inward opening door back with his body, creating a huge whirlwind and setting off an alarm inside the cargo bay and pulling me towards the hatch like a vacuum. I leaned back against the pull and prayed that the traction on my red Chucks would prevent me from sliding forward.

Raph was the first to jump, better yet, _flip_ out of the plane with a "woot!" over the speakers in my helmet. Then Mikey who shouted

"Cowabunga!" Jumped out backwards with his tongue sticking out and arms spread wide as he disappeared. Venus got a running start and gracefully dove out like she was diving into water. Donnie just did an old fashioned falling star. It was my turn now.

 _Oh God,_ I thought shakily. _Let me survive this. These turtles are crazy!_ I took a deep breath and held it as I ran out the door. I was immediately sucked out back behind the plane; the thrust of the engines hit my chest which knocked the held breath from my lungs and jump starting my heart out from its fatigue. I was in shock and awe that I actually jumped out of a plane and wasn't screaming like a little girl, even though I'm one for thrills, this was extreme for me. I was facing the back of the plane now and dropping fast with my arms spread out; if there was something I came away with physics in terms of aerodynamics it was that the larger the surface area, the slower you'll go. I didn't exactly want to go at the speed of sound with this free fall just yet.

"Everybody's out." Leo said over his radio as I saw his little figure pop out the side of the plane, far above me.

"Good, the GPS systems in your helmets should be popping up with a route and a target landing spot." Donnie said over his radio, and he was right.

After I rolled over, almost instantly a layout of the city, an altimeter, a blip of where the plane is, colored blips for each turtle and their relative positions appeared on the screen. Raph was still at the head with Donnie behind him and Venus and Mikey were almost neck-in-neck with each other on their descents and Leo was still behind me. Then green line appeared and the little layout went from being side view to a wire outline on what I actually saw, the line pinpointing where I was supposed to land—a roof top about a mile away from the airport itself that was near a series of boating docks. I looked down and saw the small figures and their little colored blips of the four below me flying over the rippling water of a small bay off of the huge city.

"Deploy parasail in t-minus thirty seconds." A smooth, female voice said in my ears. I watched as I saw a red triangle appear, then a purple one, then two more—aqua and orange. They all fell into formation as the purple triangle took the lead and banked to the right towards a group of what looked like warehouses. I tucked my arms in and closed the distance between us. "Recalculating… Deploy parasail in five…Four…Three…Two…"

"One." I said as I found the deploying strap and yanked it, which jerked me back when the single, triangular wing opened and caught the air while a collapsible metal bar came over my shoulders and out in front of me. "Okay, I'm flying—I guess—now what?" I asked as I grabbed the bar.

"Like I said, follow the route the computer has plotted out and try to follow it as best as you can." Donnie instructed.

"That'd be easier if I knew how to steer this thing." I said blandly.

"It's pretty simple, lean right to go right and left to go left. The parasail and computer inside the helmets are synced together, so if you lean too far to one side and to the point of almost flipping without intending to, the parasail will rebalance with its counterweight to prevent that."

"What about landing?"

"That's a bit trickier; see the two handles with the red para-cord on either end of the bar? Those are the altitude controls, pull down to go up and pull inwards to go down; they're kinda touchy, so be careful." He warned as I watched his purple parasail below me. I was starting to enjoy this and found his little warnings as a challenge, to see how hard I could push them without crashing into the bay below me. With a grin, I grabbed the handles and pulled them towards each other as I went into a nose dive towards the water below me.

"Jessie!" Leo yelped as I zoomed ever closer to the surface of the water and pulled down on the handles, bringing the nose of the parasail up with just enough room in between the water's surface and the bottom of the bar for me to reach down and run my hand through the cool water.

"What?" I asked with a smile as I banked to the right and made my way in behind Mikey, gaining a little altitude to get level with him. "What's wrong?"

"You—you looked like you were crashing." He stuttered. "Don't do that again." He scolded as frustration came into his voice.

 _Eh heh, I freaked him out._ As I shook my head and my smile grew.

"Chill, I got it. I'm not some fragile, porcelain doll." I chuckled.

"That was hardcore, man." Mikey complimented.

"What a worry wart." I said under my breath, hoping that the little microphone wouldn't pick up my comment.

As Leo drifted down into formation behind everybody else, I caught an unamused glare from him and I replied with a cheesy, mocking grin. I knew that he was the leader figure and that if he didn't have his little duckies, or turtles, in a row, then he wasn't happy. Everything had to be in its place, the "my way or no way" type of thing. Well, according to some of the people I know, I was a kind of leader figure myself and there usually can't be two leaders in one pack, so butting heads with him at some point was probably a guarantee. But hey, every family is dysfunctional in its own ways and apparently I was already titled as "Little Sis" by some of them.

"All right guys, you ready?" Donnie asked as we flew over the docks, breaking the stare down in between me and Leo.

"Let's do this!" Mikey exclaimed as we all pulled up from being only about twenty feet above the water to about fifty to avoid crashing like a bird into a window with the warehouses surrounding the port.

I turned my focus back to the navigation line on my screen and followed its directions—we were coming in on our building and a little timer labeled with _"LANDING IN: 1:03"_ with the milliseconds racing down to the next second in one corner and a small figure in another, explaining how to close the parasail, pressing a red button on the chest strap. There was a button on the chest strap? Apparently there was. I saw Donnie's little purple blip bank upwards on the side of the building and drop onto the roof, making a little beeping sound when he hit it; we all followed his lead. Then the red one landed, _bleep._ Orange, _bleep._ Aqua, _bleep._ Blue, _bleep_.

"Press button now." The female voice said calmly as I passed the top of the roof. I was getting nervous now, I didn't know how to land out of the air like that, much less have the courage.

 _Crap_. I thought nervously as I kept going up, I looked down at the roof and saw all five turtles watching me. I pulled in on the handles and went straight across the warehouse roof, completely missing the target landing spot.

"Jessie, now is not the time to be playing around." Leo said sternly. "We need to get home."

"I know." I said nervously as I banked back around again to line up with the roof. "I just don't know how to land."

"Didn't the computer—" Donnie started.

 _"_ _Yes_ the computer told me, I just don't know how to land from _this_ height. I may not be a fragile dolly, but I'm also not as solid as you are." I was getting a little stressed with this whole ordeal.

"Somebody's gonna have to catch her." Raph said quickly.

"Do you volunteer?" Leo asked him.

"No," He replied. "But you're a better catcher."

"That's bull crap! You're just saying that to get out of catching her." Leo snapped.

"So you just admitted that I'm better at something than you?" I could almost hear the grin on Raph's face.

"What? No, I never said that."

"Yes you did." Mikey added.

 _"_ _Not helping."_ Leo said through his teeth.

"Look, I honestly don't care who catches me, but somebody is going to have to do it. I'd rather not circle here all night." I said as I circled the roof again and watched Leo and Raph get up in each other's face as they argued.

"Somebody just freaking do it!" Venus snapped.

"I'm not!" Raph threw up his hands and walked away from Leo.

"If you don't decide sometime within the next ten seconds, I'm going to plow the two of you over and none of us will be happy." I said sharply.

"Raph, _do it._ "

"Make me, oh Fearless-Leader." He taunted.

"I'm coming in." I warned. "Ready?"

"No!" Leo yelled.

"Ten… Nine…"

"Jessie, _not_ _yet_."

"Eight…" I made a wider circle and aimed straight for the bickering brothers.

"Seven… Six…"

 _"_ _Raph."_

"If you want to prove me wrong and prove that you're the better catch, then _catch her."_ Raph challenged.

"Five…" I was getting closer and my annoyance went away and the common sense kicked in, I was making a huge gamble with this and if I over shot I'd nose dive into the building behind it and if I undershot I'd pull a Tarzan's-bad-day and slam into it like a bug on a windshield.

"Seriously, quit bickering and decide already." Donnie barked.

"Four…" I said, trying not to sound nervous, but I could even hear it in my voice. I could see Leo and Raph having an angry stare down with their aggravation with each other.

"Guys…" Mikey said shakily.

"Three…" Fifty yards. "Two…" I cringed as the space continued to close. "One…" I slapped the button and took a nose dive towards the roof and made impact with someone, hitting the roof with a loud _thunk_ of a shell hitting concrete and knocking the air and feet out of both of us. I groaned as I rolled off of the turtle under me and onto the roof with my eyes still closed and trying to find my breath again.

"Thanks." I coughed as I squinted up at the sunset sky.

"You're welcome." Donnie wheezed.

"I don't wanna get up." I whined when I discovered how comfortable the roof was. When I hit Donnie and had all the air of my lungs shoved out of my lungs, my temporary energy went with it. I was dead tired.

"C'mon Jessie, you have to get up." Leo said as he offered a hand up.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." I said sourly with a scowl and took his hand. "What was that? Is your pride more important than someone's life, e _specially_ someone who you barely know?" I barked at both him and Raph who looked away in shame.

"The important thing is that you're not hurt." Leo tried to make up for their little fight. I scoffed and turned away from him with a sigh and took off my helmet and shook my head along with my hair.

"With no help from you." I mumbled and yawned for at least ten seconds, bringing tears to my eyes because of how deep it was.

"Well, welcome to New York!" Mikey exclaimed with a smile as he took off his helmet and breathed in a deep breath of air. "No place like home." He sighed as he looked out over the bay with the setting sun slipping down closer and closer to the horizon.


	12. Chapter 11: The Welcoming Committee

We stood in a circle on the roof; the guys were discussing something, I was just standing there staring into space. I honestly didn't have anything on my mind to talk about, it was just as blank as a clean slate. I was the kind of person who completely crashed when I reached a certain level of tired. I had no living clue why I was this tired, in fact, I didn't know if I'd ever been this tired before… The closest thing to being this tired is probably the annual arcade lock-in with my youth group, I'm usually one of the first people to go and sleep in one of the movie rooms. I could never make it through the whole night without taking a nap, even if I had an energy drink and caffeinated sodas.

I only blinked when something flew in between the five of us, just barely missing my nose, and imbedded itself into the side of the roof. The talking stopped and a split second later I was shoved into the middle of the circle with everybody standing around me with their weapons drawn and in a stance that suggested that something was wrong, looking all around for the source of the star stuck in the wall.

"What's going on?" I asked as I glanced sleepily around.

"Shh!" Leo hissed as his stance got lower. Then another star whizzed towards us and was swatted away by Venus, who had a pair of sharpened metal fans.

"Crap." Raph growled as a shower of stars and darts came flying towards us. I looked at the other end of the roof to see where they were coming from and saw four people in black jumpsuits with masks crawl over the side, pelting us with more and more flying projectiles.

"Can we ever catch a break?" Mikey complained as he swung his nunchucks around, knocking the stars out of the air along with everybody else.

"Don't engage them, we don't have time to fight," Leo ordered. "Stay on the defensive." Nobody protested, not even Raph, as they formed a line in front of me.

It was a sight. Even though I could barely keep my eyes open, I could at least register the whirling of nunchucks and a staff of Donnie's, the clanging of metal hitting metal and the tinkling sound of the darts and stars hitting the roof. The men in black were getting closer and closer to us as they amped up the intensity of the rain of stars and darts. When they were only about ten feet away from the turtles, they sprang at them with swords and small blades of their own, forcing them into action. I stood there like an idiot as everybody else jumped onto the four men in suits, I didn't even flinch as rouge and poorly aimed stars flew past me and littered the ground around me. Stars weren't the only things flying either; plenty of insults, puns, grunts, cusses, and fists were let loose as the turtles gained ground on the jumpsuits.

Within five minutes, the guys in the jumpsuits were out cold on the roof and the turtles were giving high fives all around with smiles and hoots of victory.

"Well," I yawned. "That's was… Some welcoming committee." I smiled as I finished yawning.

"Heh, "welcoming committee" she says." Mikey chuckled.

"Hey, you doin' okay?" Raph asked as he leaned forward and looked at me in confusion. I nodded tiredly then my knees got weak and my head started spinning, I wobbled then shook my head, contradicting my previous answer.

"Oh no… Jessie!" I heard Donnie exclaim as my world faded to black and I felt myself begin to fall. I was caught by someone who then picked me up. I heard distant, angry voices and I could still understand them.

"Look what you did!" It was Venus.

"I didn't do anything!" Donnie snapped.

"Oh yes you did! You were the one who said that that weird stuff you made would be safe." She was upset.

"I didn't know that this would happen. I can't predict _everything."_ He snarled.

"You sometimes act like it." Venus scoffed.

"She's becoming unstable." Donnie said nervously.

"Is she dead?" Mikey asked.

"He might as well have killed her." She grumbled.

"No, but we definitely need to get back home." Donnie said ignoring Venus, their voices were getting more and more distant.

The voices echoed off into the blackness that swallowed me into a void that seemed deeper than the ocean and heavier than anything imaginable. It felt like I was being compressed without being crushed, there was pressure all around me. Then nothing.

Absolutely nothing.


	13. Chapter 12: Puppet

I was screaming. Screaming like I'd never screamed before. I was trapped. Trapped inside my own head. Something else was in there with me; it stood there, towering over me, looking down at me with evil, yellow eyes and a dark grin. I wanted to fight back, but I couldn't because of the monstrous chains that snaked around my body and were bolted to the ground. I screamed at it, but it smiled at me like it didn't hear me, like I was some kind of animal behind glass in an exotic zoo exhibit. Then it started laughing.

"You know that you'll never get out of here." It chuckled as it walked around me in a circle with its hands behind its back. I yelled at it until I got light headed. "Try all you want, it's not gonna happen." Then it flew around, sending its long duster into a flurry, and grabbed me by the cheeks with one hand and bent down until we were eye level. "Your efforts are vain." It growled.

"What do you want?" I asked from in between its steely grip on my face.

"What do I want?" It chuckled. "What do I want? I want your everything." It hissed, its breath cool and minty. "I want your body, I want your spirit, I want your girlfriend—"

I lurched towards it in anger. Nobody was going to touch her. Nobody.

"Ooh, did I hit a nerve? 'Ya know what? Now that you just gave that away, I'm going to make sure I'll kill her, _personally_."

 _"_ _Don't you dare touch her!"_ I snapped.

"Oh, but I won't be the one to get my hands dirty, it'll be _yours_."

 _Me?_ How would it be me? She was my life. If she wasn't there for me, then I wouldn't be able to live. I would _never_ think of hurting her, much less killing her.

"You look confused." It cocked its head and looked at me sympathetically. "You see, _I_ have control of your body now. You can't do a damn thing to prevent me from doing what I want, and, the best part is, they'll think it's _you_ doing it." It threw me down from my knees onto the floor. I lay on the cold, hard ground, glaring at it as it walked towards the edge of the circle of white light.

"Go to Hell." I growled as the taste of blood trickled into my mouth. It cackled as it turned around to face me.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." It lifted its chin up so that the light could shine on its face; it was dark green with black marks under its eyes. It was wearing a black leather duster that reached down to its ankles, accenting its huge chest and fitting closely to its figure. "I was planted here, inside your mind, to govern you. To take you over."

"Who planted you here?" I asked with my cheek pressed into the ground.

"That's for me to know and you to find out. Just because you won't be able to control your body, doesn't mean you can't see or feel anything, and I'm going to step aside for a moment so you can _feel_ this." It smiled and stepped away as I was thrown back into reality.

"Feel what?"

"The transformation from mediocre to _unstoppable._ "

I blinked. My head was throbbing and the bright light above me wasn't helping. I sat up but was stopped by padded leather restraints across my chest and on my wrists. I couldn't struggle against them. I just didn't have the strength. What was going on? Where was I? What did that thing mean by becoming unstoppable? Why am I in nothing but compression shorts?

I squinted against the light and out past it, I could see a table full of surgical tools, syringes, and a variety of vials lined up in a row. Then I heard the familiar beeping of a heart rate monitor. This wasn't good. Whenever you're strapped down to a table with a tray of medical stuff next to you and electrodes stuck to your chest, it often means that something unpleasant was probably in the near future. I looked around more frantically as I started to panic, making the monitor beep even faster.

"I see that you're finally awake." A deep, menacing, Asian accented voice said from the shadows. "When Stockman said that there are sturdy young men in Kentucky, he was not lying."

"What do you want?" I asked, anger taking place of my panic.

"Only everything you have to offer, but I am sure Axel already told you that." I heard heavy footsteps walk around the perimeter of the circle.

 _Axel…?_ I though with confusion. Is he talking about that freak in my head?

"You have been brought here to be bestowed with an honor that cannot be earned."

"And what kind of honor is that?" I growled.

"To be the commander of my army. You will be automatically placed in a position that no ordinary soldier in my army can ever hope to reach—the man at my right hand, my most trusted soldier," He continued as his heavy footsteps began to move around the circle again, making it possible to notice his large, shadowy, figure. "You will be respected and treated like a _king_."

"Uh-huh. And what kind of army might this be?" I asked skeptically as he stopped right in front of the cold, metal, table but still standing in the shadows.

"An army who cannot be defeated. You will be commander of the Foot Clan." He stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of me with his hands behind his back and chin raised high.

His face was covered with long scars that crisscrossed each other while some made their way onto the top of his bald head. His accent definitely matched his nationality but was much larger in size than the average stereotyped Asian man—taller than six feet, broad chested, and _built_. He wore black, traditional looking martial arts pajamas and a glare that demanded respect. It chilled me to the bone.

"You still didn't answer my question." I eyed him as he came closer and stopped only inches away from my face.

"You will learn not to sass me boy!" He snapped, staring at me over his eyebrows. "For that, I will make sure that the Good Doctor understands that this procedure being painless is not a priority." He snarled in disgust. "Stockman!" He called as he turned sharply away and marched out of the light. "Our specimen is ready."

As he left my sight, a twiggy African-American man with glasses and an afro stepped into the light as he snapped the end of a latex glove; he was wearing a white lab coat and in the process of tying a surgical mask around his face. He tried to look intimidating and serious, but instead looked like his crap was scared right out of him.

"So… Apparently you think that there's an abundance of "sturdy young men" in Kentucky?" I asked as he pulled the tray of medical whatnots next to the table.

"Yes and you're one of those young men." He said with his back to me as he drew up a syringe of something and, from the looks of it, this was no small needle. "Do you play football?" He put down the syringe and vial and started drawing up a new one with something else.

"Why…?" I was skeptical, how is that question relevant to what's going on? I do, but seriously, why does he want to know that?

"Oh, no real reason. I like to watch football and some good pro ball players have come from Kentucky recently," He flicked the syringe a few times and then turned around with the giant needle and reservoir full of a green _something_ sticking up in the air in his hand like he was some mad scientist from an old 50s movie. "And that football players are always the best specimens for experiments like this. Sure some may not be the brightest, but once you're in their head, they can be extremely loyal and it's a bonus if you can score both. We got lucky with you, you're one of the smarter boys in your age group and it just so happened that Shredder's soldiers were in town, so he decided to pick you up."

"Th-that's flattering." I said shakily as he got closer to me with the needle, I didn't like shots and still don't, so seeing a something that was over an inch long and wider than a toothpick made me _very_ uncomfortable.

"Oh, I should warn you the Big Man said that I shouldn't use any anesthetic, so this _will_ hurt." He said with sarcastic sympathy as he wiped my arm with a swab. "But don't worry, you'll eventually lose consciousness from shock." He smiled as he put the needle into my arm, making it burn as he pushed the plunger down along with whatever that stuff was into me. As he pulled it out a drop of blood followed the needle, which was bandaged with a smiley Band Aid, and he looked up at me, wearing the same smile under his mask.

I looked at him as the burning in my arm went from, well, needle burn to scalding lava as it flooded down the rest of my arm and spread into my shoulder, chest and through the rest of my body. My muscles seized up, cramped, and started twitching adding to the pain that was already coursing through me. I tried to scream, but all that came out was a yelp and the rest of the air in my chest.

"That's sort of a… Preparatory for what's next. It opens up all of your cells and prepares them for this." He said as he walked back over to his little table and came back with the other syringe, whose needle was just as big as the other's. "This is Mutation Cerium T-0739. This is the stuff that'll make you who you were meant to be." All I could do was tremble and stare, I could barely breathe, much less talk. "To be honest, this'll probably hurt more than that preparatory."

 _I can't take much more than this._ I thought as Mr. "Good Doctor" started wiping a spot on my neck.

 _Oh, but you_ have _to. You have no other choice._ Axel softly cooed in answer to my thought. I couldn't throw anything back at him because I started shaking even more in fear of that huge needle getting closer and closer to me. I started breathing even harder and I heard the heart monitor pick up speed as the needle vanished from my line of sight.

 _Another thing that you may want to know—_ Axel said casually. _That cerium will boost my strength. It'll secure my place in your head and you won't be able to do a thing about it. Best of luck my friend, see you on the other side._ He chuckled with a dark and menacing tone and disappeared as the needle pricked and burned inside my neck.

"All right boys," The twiggy man said as he pulled the needle out and looked back behind my table at whoever was there. "You might want to put the mouth guard in. Things may get a little ugly."

Two men in dark, heavy plastic masks and dark clothing stepped out from behind me, one taking a hold of my cheeks and trying to pry my mouth open while the other one shoved a vented rubber mouth piece in it. Just as they stepped away from me, a new sensation of pain came in under my skin. It felt like something with razors on its back was clawing its way around underneath my skin, cutting everything to shreds and then stitching it back again. I was lurching on the table now, pulling against the restraints, I couldn't control my body anymore. The most I could get out of my throat was ragged, forceful breaths that felt like they were being punched out of my chest. The pain just kept getting worse. It hurt too much to actually cry, I wanted to, but the tears wouldn't come.

I was barely able to stay awake at that point. I knew if I lost consciousness, Axel would get free reign of my body and if I didn't, the pain would continue. I couldn't decide. Lose who I am to some demon or keep going through the worst pain I'd ever experienced in my entire life? I was about choose when the man with the scars came into the light and stood there and watched me, expressionless. The doctor walked over to him and they talked about something, not taking their eyes off of me, but I couldn't hear them over the rapid beeping of the monitors and the roaring of blood in my ears. It was so overwhelming that it filled my pounding head with static that spread into my vision and started to make everything blur. My eyes got heavy as I slipped away into cold darkness. The last thing I remember was Axel's fading voice

"You are my puppet now."


	14. Chapter 13: Well Thanks for That

**Chapter 13: Well Thanks for that Information**

Ever had a headache that wouldn't go away no matter how much you slept? You try to sleep to make it go away, but it just doesn't happen? That's kinda how I felt only thirty times worse. Even though I didn't dream, I mean, I may have but I didn't remember anything, I still felt like I'd been flattened by a steam roller and then had my head popped like a balloon.

I groaned as I began to come back to the place known as planet Earth from that other weirdly dark place that I'd been in for who knows how long. Having my face mashed into a pillow didn't help the fact that my head was pounding, I sighed as I cringed from waking up, but it was harder than what I remembered, it felt like there was a weight on my back.

"Is she waking up?" I heard a voice whisper loudly, it was familiar, but I couldn't place the name or face.

 _"_ _Shh!"_ Another hissed. "Don't be so loud. She's been through a lot physically; she probably doesn't feel the best right now."

Boy, he could say _that_ again. I began to open my eyes but ended up squinting against a soft light coming from beside the bed, taking it up to a whole other level of popped balloon. I blinked and lifted the arm that was hanging off the side of the bed, which was tingling due to it being asleep, and rubbed the eye that wasn't smushed into the pillow.

"What happened?" I groaned hoarsely. I didn't really care who was beside my bed, I just wanted to know if I had _died_ and then come back again.

"Well, we made it back home safely." The second voice said.

"Huh…?" I asked groggily, my whole head was in a fog. Since when did I leave home?

"You're in New York, remember?" The first voice said.

"Oh yeah…" I sighed as my memory slowly came back. I was with five giant turtles that were out to save the world from some weird, evil spirit and I was the one who was supposed to stop it… Or something. "So why do I feel like horse crap again?"

"Well…" It was Donnie who was beside me. "You collapsed on the roof and we brought you back." He sounded uneasy, like he was trying to hide something by not saying everything that happened.

"What else happened?" I growled as I glared up at him, he looked nervous too. "You're not telling me everything."

"Heh, yeah…" He chuckled and scratched the back of his head and leaned back in the wooden chair that he was sitting in, avoiding eye contact. I looked up at Mikey who was also trying to avoid my look. Now I was starting to get angry.

 _"_ _What happened?"_ I snapped and got my other hand underneath me and tried to push myself up, cringing as I failed and ended up plopping back down onto the pillow.

"Um, let's just say that you had a makeover." Mikey shrugged with a shaky, half-smile.

"Of what kind?" I asked as I got both arms under me this time and continued to cringe pushed myself up and shakily succeeding.

"Er… Cosmetic…?" Mikey cringed and gripped the seat of his stool. I looked at Donnie who was now wearing an intrigued expression, a hand on his chin, head cocked to one side, and a curious look in his eyes.

"Balance is good, better than what I initially predicted," He mumbled to himself "Color is healthy."

"What?" I looked him, agitated and confused at his little side notes.

"How is she do—?" Venus asked as she stepped inside the door and stopped mid-sentence. "Oh, you are awake…" She said softly in surprise.

 _"_ _Seriously_ , what's going on here?" I glanced around at everybody, this beating-around-the-bush thing was starting to get old really quick. Venus looked at me and then sighed with closed eyes and walked over and sat on the bed next to me.

"All right, let me say this first," She started. "You understand that an Ayakashi is a type of Yokai, or guardian spirit, correct?"

"No, that was never explained to me." I said with the clearest tone I could manage as I shook my head.

"Well, you are the Ayakashi and—"

"And I'm supposed to stop the whole apocalypse thing, yeah, I got that part." I cut her off. "Get to the point." I was getting crankier as my headache persisted.

"An Ayakashi is a water Yokai…" She said with an uneasy glance.

"But I'm human, I don't live in water." I said with confusion until I looked at everybody's face that shared the same expression: a look that said _yeah, about that…_ "What did you do?"

"Remember when I said you kinda had a cosmetic makeover?" Mikey asked with a nervous grin.

"That's what happened…" Donnie finished his brother's thought. My eyes got wide as it clicked. The whole water part of the Ayakashi thing… Everything about this prophecy had to be true… Right?

I looked down at my hands which began to shake when I saw hands that didn't look like they belonged to me, they were now a light, freckled, leafy green with three fingers on each and arms that matched color. I gaped and stared at Donnie with wide eyes as my hands felt around my face and found that my nose was gone. A whimper escaped my lips as my hands then felt around my chest and stomach and found that it was hard, now without a shirt and a plastron in its place. I held my breath as I glanced over my shoulder and saw the huge, tell-tale shell on my back, confirming that I was a giant mutant turtle just like the others. I clapped my palms on the sides of my head and felt my thick, but tangled, hair which relieved a bit of my frustration, but I was still ready to let out a wail of pure shock and building anger when Venus cupped her hand over my mouth, stopping me in my tracks.

"Screaming will not help things," She said in a low voice, looking me in the eyes. "Let us explain." I slowly nodded as my eyes began to burn.

"Eh-heh… Surprise…?" Mikey said with a nervous grin.

 _"_ _Why?"_ I whimpered when Venus took her hand off of my mouth. Even though I knew the answer, I still wanted to hear it from them.

"Well…" Donnie started with an uncomfortable shrug and glanced at Venus for back up.

"Every part of the prophecy has to be fulfilled, whether or not the Yokai was found as an Ayakashi." Venus explained as she placed a soft hand on my leg, which was now green too.

 _"_ _How?"_

"Even though we don't always get along on our methods, Venus and I agreed that Onmyodo magic alone wouldn't be enough to do the job. So before we left, I concocted a serum that was comprised with enough of our DNA to change whomever Venus decided the Ayakashi was into a turtle very similar to us, leaving enough wiggle room, if you want to call it that, for the person to somewhat still look like them self." Donnie explained in his "Professional Scientist" stature. "And, apparently, some of the side effects was progressive fatigue, extreme emotional sensitivity, and mild epidermal irritation in the form of itching of the back in the latter stages of pre-transformation." He added hastily, acting as if he was talking to himself.

"How long will this last?" I asked then got ridged when the two exchanged weary glances.

"That is just it, we do not know." Venus replied with an almost sorrowful look.

"From what my calculations say," Don said gravely and looked down at the floor. "There is no way to change back." He looked back up at me with a defeated face. "The serum has permanently changed your genetic code, it's nearly impossible to come up with a mutagen that could successfully counter this without the possibility of death. It would end up confusing your body to the point of it almost destroying itself."

"Oh…" I said softly and looked down at my lap and began to fiddle with the white sheet that covered it.

"I'm sorry Jessie, I really am." He said as he reached out and put a hand on my arm in sympathy.

"But hey, look at the bright side," Mikey chimed in, trying to move the depressing mood out of the room. "You won't have to worry about human things anymore." He shrugged with a smile.

"Like what?" I asked, his bright smile slowly lifting my spirits.

"Shirts, those can be uncomfortable," He started counting on his fingers. "You aren't always really hot or really cold with the whole reptile and cold-blooded thing, getting sunburnt…" He shrugged in mild confusion. "Ooh, and posture! That'll come in handy later on… Just a bunch of really cool stuff."

"Speaking of clothing," I started as my eyebrows came together in suspicion. "What happened to them?" Everybody's eyes got wide with the awkward subject and started to glance around at each other.

"Since you have grown significantly with your… Transformation, they were almost compromised. So we decided to save them before they started to rip and stretch." Venus cleared her throat without making eye contact. "But do not worry," She waved her hands in front of her. "None of the boys touched you and I took them off as quickly and carefully as I could." It was more comforting that a _girl_ undressed me than several _boys_ while I was out.

"When did we get back?"

"Oh, about three or four days ago. You've been unconscious for quite a while." Donnie shrugged and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "But nothing that I didn't predict. In my scientific opinion, it went smoothly."

"Speak for yourself!" Mikey exclaimed. "That first night, you scared the living crap out of us, screaming like you were being tortured or something." I looked at Donnie in confusion.

"It's true, you did scream bloody murder. I don't think that the transformation was exactly a pleasant one for you."

"I could've told you that." I chuckled as I rubbed my eye and sighed as my headache didn't show any signs of letting up. "Got anything for headaches?"

"Yes," Don nodded. "Plus, I think that eating may help you with that. I have a feeling a part of it may be because you're hungry, you haven't eaten since—what—Kentucky?"

"True…" I said and looked down at my armored belly as it growled.

"Ooh! I'll go fix you something!" Mikey jumped up with excitement and zoomed out of my room with a cheerful giggle.

"No leftover microwaved pizza! She needs carbs, her blood sugar is probably low." Donnie called out the door with a stern look on his face.

"Don't worry! I'm fixing something _extra_ special!" He yelled back as I heard loud clanging of pots and pans and a yelp from someone.

"He is actually a fairly good chef," Venus smiled as she looked out the door with a soft smile. "You would not think it from the way he acts and such, but he is probably the best here."

"He definitely beats Leo on that one." Donnie laughed. "He's broken the toaster who knows how many times and could almost burn water."

"Hey, I heard that!" Leo called from outside the door then a pause. "Wait, is she up?" Then his head popped out from around the doorframe and looked in with wide and curious eyes. "Well, welcome back to real world Sleeping Beauty." He chuckled as he looked at me with a warm grin.

"Yeah, the real world graced my wonderful makeover with an even better headache. Be a doll and go get me something please." I said with a sigh.

"Don't." Donnie said to his brother and earned himself a mean look from me at the rejection of pain medications. "She needs to be awake at least eight hours before she can receive any kind of medication, especially something like Ibuprofen."

Leo just looked in between the both of us with an innocently confused face; he didn't know who to listen to. He didn't know this yet, but if you got on my bad side when I was crabby, things _wouldn't_ go smoothly. Like I said, I like my sleep and it usually takes me a while to wake up, especially if I didn't feel good.

"Well, uh, I'll-I'll go and help Mikey with getting everything ready for breakfast." Leo clapped his hands together after an awkward pause.

"Good luck with that." Venus grinned as Leo smiled uncomfortably and disappeared from the doorway. "Mikey often does not like for people to intervene with his cooking whether it is with the actual food or just setting the table."

"Picky chef." I said with a tired sniff. "To be honest, I would never expect him to be a cook, much less be stingy about it."

"Never judge a book by its cover." Donnie smiled.


	15. Chapter 14: A Hint of Home

"Wanna try to walk?" Donnie asked.

I was hesitant.

"You are going to have to sooner or later." Venus added.

"To where?" I asked.

"To the kitchen of course," Venus shrugged casually. "That is where breakfast is. You are hungry right?"

"Yes," I grumbled, I didn't feel like moving but I was also _starving_ , I'd gone three days without food, sometimes I could barely make it between meals.

"Don't worry, we'll be right beside you the entire time." Don reassured.

 _Well, if I don't move now then I never will._ I thought with a silent sigh. I clumsily stretched my legs out from underneath of me and rolled my ankles, making them pop several times, something that was fairly normal for me, and wiggling my toes which added up to be a grand total of four—two on each foot.

 _Figures_. I should've predicted this one. Every other thing was mutated like the others and apparently my feet were no exception.

I put my feet on the cold floor and looked at Donnie and Venus with skepticism—this wasn't going to go smoothly. If it was sometimes hard just to get out of bed on a _regular_ day with a _regular_ body, then this was going a real adventure. With my hands on the edge of the bed, I slowly lifted myself up and put my hands out for balance, which only worked for a few seconds until I started to fall backwards towards the bed. Before I hit the bed, two hands caught my arms and lifted me back to my feet.

"Your center of balance is off, that shell on you back is at least fifty pounds, plus you practically lost three toes on each foot, so you're also walking on narrower feet." Donnie explained as he gripped my upper arm and held me up.

"This is gonna take some getting used to." I said as I tried to get my shaky knees and feet underneath me again, even if they weren't there to begin with.

It felt weird. It was like all of my toes were still there but yet they weren't all at the same time and even though there wasn't pressure or pain, it felt like I had an extremely heavy backpack on. If I leaned back too far, I'd end up flat on my back—shell now—with no breath left in me and if I went too far forward, I'd be eating concrete with a sore mouth and everything else.

I took a deep breath, looked down at the ground, put one foot out in front of me, and gripped the supporting turtles' shoulders as the next foot clumsily followed. I was like a baby trying to learn how to walk, only I was fifteen years past that point and almost embarrassed that I needed help with this. I felt my face start to burn as I slowly made my way across the floor; I was basically embarrassing myself in front of myself. This is what happens when I have to ask for help for a simple thing—such as walking. Call it a pride or ego issue, but I just didn't like receiving help like this, I liked _giving_ it.

By the time we made it to the door, I'd let go of Venus and Donnie, who had also loosened their grip on my arms, and was wobbling like a tight rope walker. This whole two toed thing wasn't exactly as fun as I originally thought—which wasn't all that optimistic to begin with. I stopped in the door and clung to it like a life line and looked out ahead of me like I was some kind of heroine, even though I didn't exactly feel like one.

I was in their home—or at least a place that seemed like one—it was definitely different than what I was used to, but it was still nice. The solid concrete walls and wide archways suggested that we were underground—so the sewer thing wasn't a figure of speech after all. From what I could see, it was elaborately decorated with martial arts posters, road signs, lights of all sorts, miscellaneous trinkets, a huge disco ball, and a messy couch made of layers upon layers of flattened pizza boxes covered with blankets and pillows, and a carefully shaped chair with a matching Ottoman. There was an entire wall of computer monitors to my left, must be Donnie's little corner, and several other arches that opened up into large rooms that seemed to have an even greater collection of things. Most of the furniture in this place looked like it was hand crafted and crafted _well_ , but what else should I expect from a group of creative turtles that live under New York? Most furniture would probably be too small for them and probably too trashed to be salvaged from the streets. This place was amazing.

"Wow…" I breathed as I gaped around.

"Welcome to your new home." Venus said with a smile as she stood next to me in the doorway. This bedroom was probably one of the only rooms that had an _actual_ door and frame.

"This place is amazing. How did you do it?" I asked Donnie over my shoulder.

"Let's just say that when you live underground and can't really go up top, so you have to use what resources you have and make the best of it." He shrugged.

"It's nicer than what I expected."

"What? Did you think that we lived in a dump?" He asked, almost offended. I tipped my head to the side with pressed lips, not wanting to say yes but also not wanting to lie.

"This is actually the cleanest it has ever been," Venus commented. "Just before we left, Leo and Master Splinter made us clean, almost to the point of complete sanitation. It was probably the hardest I have ever worked on cleaning before."

"Well, you did a great job." I smiled. "It's cleaner than my room back home."

"Breakfast's ready!" Mikey called from another room as a timer dinged. As soon as those words left Mikey's mouth, my stomach growled like I hadn't eaten in, well, days. Venus and Donnie looked at me with raised eyebrows in surprise.

"Hungry?" Donnie asked.

"A little…" I said quietly.

I shakily let go of the doorframe and ventured out into the room, looking around at all of the things that decorated the walls and floor. Nothing short of amazing.

"Where's the kitchen again?" I looked over my shoulder at Venus and Donnie—I was lost.

I followed them through the catacombs of their underground sanctuary, past an arcading room full of beeping games and little melodic theme songs, another, larger room was full of exercise machines, weights, spring boards, vault boards, gymnastic bars and more, then there was a room with a huge TV that looked like a family room. Every room was different and full of its own things—this place was like a teenager's paradise—but, of course, that's who lived here…

When we finally made it to the kitchen, Mikey was placing huge plates piled high with scrambled eggs, toast, milk and juice, bacon, biscuits, and even fresh-sliced apples on a long table with a red and white checkered table cloth with small, faded stains. He was humming as he moved back and forth from the counters that neighbored two dented, white stoves. This truly reminded me of home.

"I see you finally found your feet." He commented as he put a finger in a jar of jam and stuck it in his mouth as he placed it on the table. He was wearing a well-loved, white apron with numerous stains that said "Kiss the Chef."

"Wow, this is quite a feast!" I nodded, leaning on a chair as my mouth began to water.

"Well, since this is the first time we're actually going to eat with a guest, I figured that I should fix something special." He said with a warm smile. "I also guessed that you'd be pretty hungry and that I should try my hand at a hearty country breakfast. Did I get everything right?"

"You hit it right on the head." I smiled with a sigh. Biscuits are definitely a staple food in a meal from Kentucky and just about every other state bordering it.

Raph walked into the kitchen with a mug that was just barely big enough for his hand, not paying any attention to anybody else in the room as he made a b-line for the coffee pot. After almost emptying the glass pot into his cup and adding a heaping tablespoon of sugar, he turned around and leaned against the counter stared off into space as sipped the hot, black liquid.

"Someone finally decided to come back to the real world." He said almost grumpily without looking at me. "Have fun?"

"I guess you could say that, it wasn't exactly a joy ride." I replied.

"Good, you're up and walking." Leo panted as he came into the kitchen, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Where'd you come from?" I asked as he stepped up the table and placed his hands on a chair next to me. "I thought you were supposed to help Mikey with breakfast."

"I did, but after that I went out on my morning run," He sighed, as he wiped sweat off of his head. "Just something to get the blood flowing. You should join me sometime."

"Heh, tell me that when I can actually walk in a straight line." I huffed and studied the top of the dented wooden chair. I barely made it to the kitchen without my knees giving out from under me, so running wouldn't be on my agenda any time soon.

"Where's Splinter?" Leo asked as he looked around the kitchen and into neighboring rooms.

"I'm just getting my morning cup of tea." A voice said in a soft, warm tone. I looked up and, standing next to a stove with a tea pot in his hand, was a giant rat in a yellow and black robe, looking at me with a warm smile. "Hello, you must be Jessie."

I didn't know what to think. Rats didn't really freak me out unless I saw one in my house, but this was one that could almost look me in the eyes. He was about a six inches shorter than me and, just by looking at his face, was older than any of us there. He had a small bun of dark hair on the top of his head, a long, furless face, aside from a long, thin mustache and goatee, and bushy eyebrows that sat above two kind, black eyes.

"Y-yes…" I said quietly as he walked over to me with his steaming cup of tea, still wearing his kind smile.

"I am Splinter," He introduced himself with a small wave of his long-fingered hand. "I hope you're feeling better, from what Donatello has told me, the last few hours prior to your arrival seemed not to have been the best."

"You could say that." I nodded nervously.

"Well, I am glad to see that you're awake and on your feet." He smiled warmly as he sipped his tea.

"Breakfast's ready!" Mikey sang as he put the last plate of food on the table and pulled a string from the bow of the apron around his waist.

"Great, I'm _starved_." Leo said as he eagerly rubbed his hands together. He didn't have to say it twice, everybody flocked the table and was in their seats within seconds and nodding in agreement with Leo's declaration. I shakily pulled back my chair and slumped into it as best as I could without falling out of it or flopping forward and hitting my head on the table. Man, what a day it would be when I found my balance again.

"All right, just before we dig in," Mikey started, stopping several reaching hands from grabbing their first serving of food or glass of breakfast beverage. "I want to say how happy I am to _finally_ be back home and have a new little sister." He smiled as he held up a glass of orange juice with a smiling nod towards me. "To Jessie!" I shyly smiled and blushed as everybody else stood up and held up their glasses and exclaimed together

 _"_ _To Jessie!"_

"Now, let's dig in!" He exclaimed as he smiled from ear-to-ear. My mouth watered as I reached across the table and snatched two biscuits from the stack, scooped out a heap of scrambled eggs, three slices of toast, and then stopped mid-grab for the bacon when I noticed that everybody was staring at me in shock, their plates almost empty compared to mine. I quickly pulled my hand back and buried it into my lap as my face burned with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry…" I cough nervously and looked down at my lap. "I-I just haven't eaten…" I felt like I would melt in my chair from how hot I got and the amount of humility I was experiencing. "I'm not usually this rude, I promise." I still couldn't look up at them.

"Well," Leo cleared his throat and glanced around at everybody else around the table. "It's understandable, I would honestly be pretty hungry myself if I hadn't eaten in a few days either."

"I know I would," Mikey commented as he talked over a mouthful of food from his plate. "I sometimes can't even make it between meals."

"Ain't that the truth?" Raph huffed as he took a bite out of an apple slice.

"Jessie, we understand your circumstances, please don't feel like you have offended us." Splinter soothed. "You are welcome here." I nodded softly at him and slowly sat up in my chair and _politely_ took a slice of bacon and laid it on my plate. I steadily relaxed as the sounds of eating began to fill the space around the table.

I took a bite of egg and had to clutch the table cloth from how good it tasted and how wonderful felt to finally have food in my mouth, the only thing that it was missing, though, was some ketchup, but I would live if I didn't get any. Somehow or another, Mikey had figured out how to actually pull off a-little-more-than-decent Kentuckian breakfast.

"How in the world did you do this? It's like you've were born and raised in a country kitchen." I asked him when I swallowed what I had in my mouth and went for another forkful.

"Well," He said as he swallowed and pointed his spoon at me. "Since you were out for a few days, I had some time to research the basics of southern cooking."

"You? _Researching?"_ Raph laughed. _"You_ actually took time, out of your day, to research how to cook?"

"If you think _you_ could've done it better, then let me see you try." Mikey said as he stuck his lip out at his brother.

"Nah." Raph waved him off as he took a bite out of a biscuit and avoided eye contact with Mikey.

"That's what I thought." He said softly with crossed arms. "Anyways, it wasn't all that hard, I figured out that a majority of it was bacon grease with almost everything, and when it wasn't grease, it was butter." He said and turned his attention back to me.

"That's about right." I nodded as I finished my eggs and went to buttering one of my biscuits.

"I think it is delicious myself," Venus complimented with a smile. "Superb job."

"By the way," I said through the food in my mouth. "How's your leg doing, Donnie?" The thought had just randomly popped into my mind as I chewed.

"It's healing quite nicely, thanks for asking." He smiled with a nod. "You did an exceptional job considering what few things you had to work with, and, to be honest, I prefer the needleless route over sutures. Which I may have to resort to after the glue wears off and it isn't healed enough to go without something holding it together."

"Good, I wasn't for sure if it would work, but I'm glad it did." I grinned.

"So what my sons have told me is true." Splinter said softly as he sipped his tea.

"Huh?" I leaned on the table to look at the rat sitting at the head of the table.

"My sons had told me that you helped them when they were in peril in a strange place." He said as he set his cup down with his hands still wrapped around it. "Why did you help them?" He asked in a smooth and curious tone.

"I couldn't just leave them there," I said as I remembered what happened in the tree house. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for turning down a plea for help like that." I thumbed my fork and then looked at my almost empty plate.

"You have a warm heart which cares deeply for others," Splinter looked at me with his beady eyes, then sighed, "This world needs more of that warmth. I believe that you will go far, young Ayakashi, Venus has done well."

"Okay…" I said through my last mouthful of biscuit, then I heard whispering and quiet snickers from across the table. I glanced around and saw that Leo and Raph were whispering to each other behind their hands, trying to hide their conversation and occasionally glancing at me. "W-what's going on?" I whispered to Venus, keeping my eyes glued on the two giant turtles.

"Huh?" She asked, looking confused.

 _"_ _What are they doing?"_ I hissed nervously and nodded towards Leo and Raph. She looked at them then stiffened.

"Jessie…" She said quietly in a rigid, shocked-filled tone. "They are plotting." My eyes got wide as they slowly got up from their chairs with straight faces and eyes that said something completely different…

"What should I do?" I asked frantically as they rounded either side of the table. "Splinter—" I started only to have the rest stop in my throat as Raph cracked a dark and devious grin that kick started my heart and sent chills down my spine.

"Hm?" He said and looked at me with his tea in his hands. I glanced from Leo to Raph and back again, then at Donnie and Mikey who were trying to hold back laughter as they watched me and my skyrocketing anxiety.

 _"_ Run." Venus said urgently into my ear.

"But—"

 _"_ _Run!"_ She pulled me out of the chair by the arm and to my feet as she began to push me out of the kitchen with the two hulking turtles beginning to pick up speed after us.

 _Shit._


	16. Chapter 15: Run Jessie, Run!

"Why are they doing this?" I asked over my shoulder as Venus struggled to push me along due to my uncooperative legs who had forgotten how to walk.

"How should I know? They are boys. So they are rash and often do not make _any_ sense in their actions." Venus said as she sharply turned me down one hall then into another with the brothers hot on our heels. We weaved in and out of rooms like this several times until Venus pulled me into a closet backwards with her, cupped her hand over my mouth, and closed the door only enough to leave a small crack for us to see out of.

 _Why in the world are those idiots chasing us? Is it because we're the only girls?_ I thought as we watched the two juggernauts jog past the door. I began to add up why we were playing fox-and-hound as we waited nervously in the tiny closet. Leo had invited me to go on a run with him and my reply could've been a _little_ friendlier, Venus was probably chomping at the bit to get me into training since she literally dragged everyone else to Kentucky on such a short notice, and, if I stuck to my guess about how long this would take, summer wasn't getting any longer… _This is staged. It's staged!_ My heart skipped a beat as the realization popped into my head. It _had_ to be. This was an exercise to get me back on my feet again.

I began to shake as I quietly sucked in a lung full of air. If this was to work properly, Venus had to be in on it as well and that the whole dragging-me-along fiasco had to be a part of the act. So, trying to act as naturally as I could, I slowly turned my head to glance at her face in the small sliver of light that leaked through the crack in the door, she was still looking outside around the door, _"trying"_ to locate Raph and Leo. I steadily turned back around and gathered up my courage as I shifted my weight so I could _somewhat_ balance on my own, and prepared to bolt out of the door and back to my room, the only place I really knew besides the kitchen. With my hand barely being able to stay steady, I reached for the round door handle and with one final breath, turned the nob and bolted from the closet. I stumbled on my way out, but sloppily found my balance once again and yelped when I heard the surprised shouts and heavy footsteps from my original pursuers and another, lighter rhythm behind me.

 _I knew it! I knew she was in on this!_ I thought as my running finally smoothed out into a somewhat regular pace as I began to pick up speed. When I came up on the first door, which honestly wasn't too far from the closet, I nearly went into a sliding fall as I cut the around corner and into the next catacomb of a room. I kept running, trying to remember the route that Venus and I had taken to get to the closet, I ended up going through just about every _other_ room that wasn't to the kitchen. My heart was thudding in my chest when burst through an industrial plastic curtain and I skidded to a halt as I met a dead end. I whipped around when I heard voices behind me. I felt like a cornered animal. I looked hastily around the room and saw a metal, fire escape-like balcony on the far wall with a small arsenal beneath a large sewer tunnel that was a few feet from the top of the balcony. Strategically, it probably wasn't the best idea, but it was the best I had considering I was practically cornered. I scrambled up the ladder just as the three busted through the stripped plastic and immediately located me, pinning me to the spot.

"Told you that you should go running sometime." Leo smiled darkly, making me panic even more.

"Well… Y-you forced me into this." I pointed at him shakily as I pressed myself into the cold, concrete wall. "And you, you tricked me!" My finger turned towards Venus.

"Sometimes a master must take drastic measures to get her protégé started on training." She shrugged, wearing a dark expression of her own.

"Don't you think that _this_ could be an exception? I literally just woke up an hour ago from a _three-day coma_ in a _completely_ different body that I'm barely used to." I said as anger began to fill my chest. Could a turtle catch a break?

"Excuses won't help your situation," Leo said as he cracked his knuckles. "And the chase isn't over." His creepy smile returned as he approached the fire escape.

 _No, no, no…_ I thought and hastily looked around for options. There was the sewer tunnel to the right, but that was too far away for me to jump and successfully grab the lip of it. I could try and jump over the edge and clear Venus and Raph, but I didn't exactly know how land from such a jump. I quickly looked over the metal railing and saw Leo half way up the ladder and the other two closing in.

"Desperate times…" I said to myself as I shook my head in disbelief as to what I was about to do. I backed up as far as I could and ran at the railing, grabbed it with both hands, and jumped through my arms, my legs leading me to the ground. I jarringly landed just behind Raph and scampered out of the room as fast as I could, hearing sounds of disbelief and shock just before I broke through the curtain and hung a sharp left.

 _Hardcore parkour…?_ I thought with a half grin as I followed my nose towards the fading smells of breakfast. I started to slow down, eventually stopped, and rested my hands on my knees to try to catch my breath as my adrenaline flow began to dissipate and the bleak realization of how much stamina I'd lost since the previous soccer season quickly revealed itself. I stood up straight and winced as my legs began to tighten from the lack of movement over the past seventy-two hours. Then I heard thumping footsteps again and before I knew it, the air was knocked out of my lungs as, what felt like a wall, ran into me and slammed my shell into the floor, which made a loud _crack_ that jarred my whole body.

"That was quite a game of cat-and-mouse there, kid," Raph said with amusement in his voice. "Good job." He pushed himself up from the ground and off my chest, which made me cough as air could finally find my lungs again. That four hundred pound estimation thing didn't seem too exaggerated now that I'd actually knew what it _felt_ like to have that pile-drive me and then land on my chest.

"So all of that was staged?" I rasped and looked up at him, only for my head to flop back when the world around me began to spin.

"Eh, more or less." He shrugged as he offered an outstretched hand to help me up. I dragged my hands across my face, gave him a small glare, and took his hand as all of the others rushed towards us.

"What happened?" Donnie exclaimed when he slid in on the scene.

"It worked." Raph said simply with a satisfied smirk on his face as I leaned against him, still trying to catch my breath.

"I said to get her on her _feet_ , not _kill_ her." Donnie threw his hands in the air as he rushed up to me, turned me around, and started to frantically study my shell. "It's not cracked; but was it really necessary for you to take her down like that?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Raph said coolly as he looked at his brother over his nose.

"Do you realize how _bad_ things could've been if she _did_ crack her shell?" He pushed his glasses up on his nose as he stood up and came within inches of Raph's face. "Her shell isn't as strong as ours, she could have it split on a vertebrae and _completely_ compromise her motor skills."

"Get out of my face, Don." Raph warned.

"This is what happens when you don't listen to me." He hissed. "You _never_ listen." Both of their faces were red with anger as knuckles began to pop from clenched fists and the staring contest between them intensified.

"Hey now," I tried to push the two of them apart before a punch was thrown. "Hey, I'm _fine."_ But their tempers seemed to completely block me out and continuing to talk probably wouldn't get me anywhere. Just as Leo was about to approach them and break up the fight, I reached up and smashed their heads together, which was the only way I could think of to get their undivided attention. "I'd like to be acknowledged when I'm talking, if that's too much to ask." I said as firmly as I could, almost sounding like a pissy middle school teacher. This was honestly nothing but hot air and fake authority, I was half-terrified that this whole thing would backfire in my face and send me into next week from a certain fiery tempered turtle.

The two towering turtles had bounced off of each other's heads with grunts and then flipped around to face me with the same agitation that almost led to a brawl. I stood my ground with the straightest face I could muster and my hands pressed into my hips; yes, I did want a little respect and had hoped it _wasn't_ too much to ask for, but I also didn't want to have another man—or rather turtle—chase around their home. But thankfully, Leo intervened.

"She's fine. Break it up." He said sternly and stepped in front of me with his arms spread out to his sides. I peeked around his shell and up at Raph and Donnie who scowled in between themselves and Leo, the air was still heavy with tension as the two brothers gave each other one final glare and walked past Leo on either side.

"D-Donnie," I said as he began to leave the room, making him stop and look over his shoulder. "Thanks for the concern—it-it's appreciated." I stuttered as I could still feel angry vibes coming from him.

"You're welcome." He said only loud enough for me to hear from where I stood but with a softer, less-angry tone in his voice. He pushed back the plastic curtain and left the room in an awkward silence.

"Wow," Mikey whistled. "That hasn't happened in a _long_ time."

"Well, lets hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon." Leo sighed. "I think Don's a little more territorial of you because you're a scientific breakthrough that is in _his_ personal care." He looked at me as he slowly pressed his lips together. "You're the first successful human-to-turtle mutation that we know of."

"Like I said, I appreciate his concern," I said and turned to look where he had walked out. "But I almost feel like I'm a bit of a nuisance around here…" I said shamefully as I looked down at my feet. They were going through all of this trouble just for me. Fixing a special breakfast for me, coming all the way to Kentucky _just_ for me, them tending to me when I was unconscious, putting up with my unstable emotions on the way to New York, _risking their skins on a plane for me_. I was really starting to feel guilty about pulling out this extra effort from them.

"Oh, do not think yourself as a nuisance," Venus said as she came up and hugged my head. "Please do not. If anything, you are the one who should think that _we_ are the nuisance, I mean, after all, we are the ones who are asking such a big favor of you, please do not think that." She cooed and pulled me in tighter to her chest.

 _Then why do I get the hunch that their every living moment will be spent on me this summer?_


	17. Chapter 16: Metamorphosis

"Stockman, status report on our newest recruit."

"It has been almost exactly one hundred twenty hours since Mutation Cerium T-0739 has been administered," I said hastily as I studied the EKG, EEG, and respiration graphs on the monitor next to the capsule. "And the subject has been in the Chest for at least ninety nine percent of that time and everything seems to be going well and according to plan…" I concluded and nervously looked over my shoulder at the towering man behind me.

"When will he be ready?" He asked as he approached the Chest and ran a hand over its long, smooth, black body. There were two answers to that question: the _scientifically accurate_ answer or the one he wanted to hear.

"T-technically, it's up to him now, his body is stable now and fully formed, but it's optimal for him to stay in there for a few more hours." I cringed as I finished my sentence, knowing that the wrong answer was the one he didn't want to hear. He just silently stood there with his hand on the capsule and looked at it like he was deep in thought.

"You did not answer my question, Doctor," He said quietly, an impatient undertone quickly growing in his deep voice. "Is he ready to come out?" He then turned with lightning speed and roared in my face. _"Baxter! Yes or no!?"_

"Y-yes." I whimpered as I began to tremble and crumble to the ground. The Shredder is a very scary and very _dangerous_ man and I did not want to be on his black list, because, once you're on his black list, you're as good as dead. He whipped back around to the capsule, pounded on the steel top, and yelled

"Come out and face your new master! Come out and see what _I_ have given you! _Come and claim your place next to me!"_

A dead and terrifying silence fell on the room that was only broken by steady beeping of his EKG on the monitor. He stood over the Chest with a death stare that could burn right through someone's soul as seconds slipped by like cold molasses. Nothing. Then the EEG monitor spiked, letting out a single beep, then again a few seconds later, then the EKG pace picked up speed. An alarm went off in the lab, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I scrambled off the floor and over to the computer and control panel, a red alert window was blinking on the screen.

"There's movement inside the capsule," I said as another window popped up. "He's breaking the restraints—open the Chest!" I yelled as I ran back over to the capsule and started to frantically punching in the code to open the top and jumping when a loud _bang_ echoed from inside and an outward dent of a huge fist appeared in the hull. _"C'mon, c'mon!"_ I growled until the hull decompressed, flew off the hinges from the pressure, and hit the wall across the room, sending in an alarmed battalion of Foot soldiers with tranquilizer guns through the door. What writhed inside that capsule looked like something out of a science fiction horror movie.

"Ha-ha! Yes Axel, yes!" Shredder bellowed as he watched the thick membrane move as two hands clawed at its slippery surface and sounds of struggle gurgled from beneath the translucent white sheet of coagulated mutagenic compounds.

The hands then came together and pinched the membrane as Axel sat up in the Chest, his head sharply sliding up as the membrane began to rip behind him from four sharp spikes on his back. He twisted the pinched membrane in his fingers and violently ripped it open with a muffled yell, his hand almost hitting me in the head. I gaped when I saw the creature that was sitting in the capsule, ripping off the electrodes and gagging as he pulled out the endotracheal breathing tubes from his throat and nostrils—he was just as I had imagined he would be.

A giant, green terrapin sat waist deep and covered in the pink, gelled, transparent, compounds that assisted with his metamorphosis, looking a little confused and very agitated. His shell perfectly formed with spikes, which was something that I actually did _not_ plan, but I wasn't going to complain, arm muscles toned and full of to-be-tested strength with three-fingered hands that held just as much potential. I skirted around to the front of the Chest and stood next to Shredder, my curiosity over weighing my fear for the man. His face was chiseled with a strong jaw line, thin nostrils, an intimidating yet charming brow, and menacingly yellow eyes that had small, sharply shaped, black markings under them that lined his lower eye lid and met at a point to the outside of his eyes. His plastron was healthily thick and uniform and had a few sections along outer parts that were black compared to the natural yellowish-tan color. He looked around the room and at the capsule he was sitting in with his slimy arms held out from his body then his focus turned to the two of us who were standing directly in front of him and gave us a bone-chilling glare.

"Good job Dr. Stockman, he has turned out just as I expected him to." Shredder said with satisfaction as he studied Axel with crossed his arms.

"Thank you, Master Shredder," I said without taking my eyes off of my successful mutation. "Although there are some physical characteristics that I did not anticipate, but they are minor things that I think you'll like."

"Are you just gonna stare at me all day or help me get out of this _disgusting_ ooze?" Axel asked hoarsely with a cringe as he flicked his hands, sending drops of gel flying.

"Lieutenant," Shredder said sharply. A man from the ranks stepped forward and stood rigidly next to him, with the standard plastic Foot soldier mask covering his face, except for his eyes, which watched Shredder intently. "Retrieve several towels and a mat for your new commander. Stockman and I will help him out of the Chest ourselves."

"Yes, Master Shredder." He said with a bow and a weary glance towards the Chest then turned to the four other soldiers in the room and barked "You heard him!" The five of them left the room, leaving the three of us in the laboratory.

"H-how are you feeling?" I asked tentatively.

"A little tired and sore," Axel said calmly, his temper had dissipated from earlier and turned into curiosity as he studied his arm and flexed his hand. "But other than that, I am very pleased with my new body." He said and glanced at me from the corner of his eye with a small smile. "Thank you Doctor." Apparently I looked shocked, because an expression of mild offense began to write itself on his face. "Just because I'm a demon doesn't mean that I don't know how to be _polite_ , I know where my priorities lie."

"Master Shredder," The lieutenant burst through the door with his tiny battalion behind him, all five of them with towels and one with a fuzzy bathroom rug. "We hurried as fast as we could with the towels. I apologize for not returning sooner." He bowed respectfully.

"Never mind that," Shredder waved off the soldier. "Lay out the mats and ready the towels."

"Master Shredder," I said. "B-before we help him out of the capsule, he'll need to wipe off his arms and hands or whatever parts of his body we may come in contact with because the mutagenic compounds on his skin may have adverse effects on us if it makes skin contact which probably wouldn't end well."

"Very well." He nodded with a small hint of annoyance in his voice as a soldier tossed Axel a towel.

"After we get you out, you will need to go immediately to the showers and wash off all of the gel." I explained as he wiped off his face and arms, listening intently as I talked. "It can be very dangerous outside of the Chest because it's not in a controlled environment anymore and can be unpredictable if left out long enough. I have made a special soap that will neutralize whatever is still left on your body." Axel nodded as I walked around to the side of the Chest and stood on the opposite side of the rug from Shredder who had taken his side and was listening to my instructions as well. "Are you ready?"

"Sure," Axel sighed and tossed the soldier the towel as he shifted in the capsule. "How am I going to do this?"

"Y-you could use our shoulders to help lift yourself out or if you have a better idea…" I suggested and glanced at Shredder to see if he had any suggestions, but he didn't look at me so I guessed he didn't have anything better.

"I like that one." Axel said with a nod as he twisted himself up onto his knees with ease, placed his large hands on our shoulders, and pushed himself up and out of the Chest, my legs almost gave out from under his weight. When he got his feet planted firmly on the ground and straightened his back, he towered almost six inches over Shredder, making him almost seven feet tall. I looked over my creation in awe—just like his upper body, his legs were toned to perfection and full of potential power with sturdy, double-toed, feet that easily supported his huge frame. This was the perfect vessel for Axel, even though the whole possession thing has _no_ scientific explanation whatsoever, therefore something I choose not to think about simply because that type of thing isn't in my field of expertise and Shredder said for me not to question it.

I am literally on his chain. But how can I not? When a man who is the head of New York's greatest criminal organization threatens to kill you if you don't agree to his terms, you have to follow the rules. Several times I have contemplated whether or not I should retaliate against him, but then I would realize that he could easily kill me _barehanded_ and then that he has several _hundred_ loyal followers behind him that wouldn't even think twice about killing me themselves. So obeying him, and now this magnificent creature that I have created, are my only options.

"Stockman," Shredder said, pulling me from my thoughts. "Do you believe that Axel has turned out to be all that you had intended him to be?" His tone of voice was almost friendly and seemed to be open to my honest opinion, something that hardly ever happens.

"Oh yes, Master Shredder," I nodded, giving my actual opinion. For once, I wasn't second guessing myself on whether I should voice my own thoughts. "He is all that I had anticipated and _more."_


	18. Chapter 17: New Looks

"Before we actually start anything, it might be a good idea to find you something to wear." Leo said as we walked back to the room I woke up in, bringing a rather important issue to my attention, making me immediately turn red.

 _Oh God,_ I whined inside my head. _I've been walking around nude this whole time!_ I wasn't usually the most self-conscious person in the world, but I _did_ like to at least keep my clothing _on_.

"W-wh…" I stuttered and then cleared my throat uncomfortably. "What do you have to choose from?"

"Eh," He shrugged as I followed him to a large closet on an adjacent wall in the room. "Depends on what you like. I _could_ give you some suggestions on wardrobe choices, but I'm no fashion genius."

"I'm not much of one either…" I said grimly as I played with a lock of my tangled hair. Yes, I could dress myself, but sometimes the stuff that I picked out wouldn't exactly match. I have gotten better as I have gotten older, but I still have my moments.

"Then I guess we need to call in the fashion mastermind of this household." Leo sighed as he put his hands on his hips and looked at me with a small smile then called _"Mikey, we need some fashion advice!"_ Mere moments later, we heard muffled clattering coming from another room as Mikey jogged to the doorway and leaned against the door frame with a huge smile.

"Are you _finally_ taking me up on my fashion offer, Leo?"

 _"_ _No,"_ He said with an annoyed tone. _"Jessie_ is the one who needs the wardrobe assistance."

"Oh," He shrugged as he stepped inside and, as he passed Leo, hissed: _"Loser."_

"Excuse me?" His brother said, looking slightly offended.

"Let's see," Mikey cleared his throat, ignoring Leo as he threw open the closet door and practically disappeared as he started digging through the various clothing articles inside. "Are you a skirt type of gal or nah?"

"I usually prefer pants over skirts," I said as he reappeared holding a pair of dark blue baggy pants on a metal hanger with several yellow sashes looped next to it in one hand and a long, open-hipped skirt that looked very similar to Venus's in the other. "Is that… Venus's?" I asked, skeptically squinting at him.

"Uh… Not really," He chuckled nervously. "It's just one that _we_ thought she'd like, but never really did."

"So you were rejected because she didn't appeal to your fashion choices." I concluded as I crossed my arms and shifted my weight. "But to answer your question, I like pants over skirts."

"Cool," He handed me the hanger then turned back around and continued to dig through the closet. "How about shoes?"

"What about them? Shouldn't the ones that I already have here still fit?"

"Eh," Mikey shrugged as he came back out to look at me. "Depends how wide your foot is."

"I have pretty narrow feet," I said as I looked down at my green feet. "Or at least I did. What do you think?"

"For a turtle, you _do_ have narrow feet, but now…" He shrugged. "But have a pretty wide foot compared to a human's."

 _I guess I do…_ I thought grimly. I actually _liked_ my narrow feet.

"Here," Mikey said from inside the collection of clothing with a pair of red Converses in his hand that he held out from the closet. "Those are probably the ones that'll fit you best that aren't completely trashed." The shoes that I took from his hand were definitely worn, but not to the point of being a complete loss—I could work with them.

"Do you have any shirts…?" I asked timidly.

"Yes, but I don't recommend wearing one. They're more of a nuisance than anything else." Leo said as Mikey stood up with two wraps in his hands.

"You'll need these." He handed them to me.

"What are they for?"

"They're leg wraps—they help prevent you from pulling anything and add support."

"And they go where…?"

"Those are the wide ones, so they go on your thighs. We don't want any pulled hammies before anything important happens." Mikey smiled as he handed me a roll of sports tape. "That will go around the top and bottom of the wrap to hold it in place."

"Okay…" I said as I tried to juggle the clothing. "But before I get dressed, is there any chance I could use a shower first…?" I asked sheepishly.

"Oh," Leo said with an almost surprised expression. "I suppose you would want a shower after all you went through." He shrugged. "Mikey, could you show her to the bathroom while I go and get Jessie a new scrub brush?"

 _"_ _We have new brushes?"_ Mikey exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes and I'm not gonna tell you where they are because you'll steal a new one every other week." Leo pointed at him distastefully.

"No I _wouldn't."_ He spat and then received a skeptical look from Leo, which made him shrink in shame. "Fine," He sighed heavily. "C'mon, it's this way." He waved his hand for me to follow as he grumpily slumped out of the room, so I did as Leo went the other way.

"So, what kind of scrub brush is this exactly?" I asked as Mikey stopped in front of a closet.

"A dish scrubber." He explained as he pulled out two neatly folded towels and handed them to me.

 _"_ _What?"_

"Yeah," He chuckled. "They work pretty well, they're cheap, convenient, and can clean a shell without screwing up your shoulders."

"I assume you use something along the lines of Turtle Wax for soap." I sighed as the thought of using _actual_ soap began to fly out the window.

"No, we actually use that for shell polishing," He shrugged with a chuckle. "Turtle _skin_ doesn't really like the stuff—it makes it nice and sticky then completely dries it out. Not a pretty sight."

"So what _do_ you use?" I asked as re-situated the stuff in my arms.

"Usually we try to get as many hotel toiletry samples as we can, but when that doesn't work or when we run out—we go and buy the stuff incognito."

"How?" I giggled; surely, they didn't ambush the store's power, nab what they need, then leave a huge tip on the counter.

"We send Venus out, usually to a small drug store, because she's the only one who looks like a _somewhat_ convincing human under all the clothing we make her wear—plus she's better at acting like one, too. Apparently we're too big and act like a bunch of idiots because we try so hard it looks fake." He explained as we stopped at another door that had a long, beat-up "Showers" sign over the doorframe with male and female signs on either side of the swinging door which were modified to look more like the giant turtles who use it than a human. Then Leo jogged up with a long-handled dish scrub brush in one hand and a small bottle of something in the other.

"Here's your brush," He said as he held out the new, white plastic cleaning utensil with my name written in Sharpie on the handle. "And I also figured you'd want some conditioner for your hair." He placed an unused travel-sized bottle of white hair conditioner in my hand.

"Why do you have conditioner? None of you have hair." I asked as I flipped the bottle around in my hand and looked up at him in confusion.

"They come in the hotel packages, so we have actually surplus of them since we don't have any use for them." He explained with a shrug.

 _Well, I guess I lucked out on this._ I raised an eyebrow and gently nodded. If I didn't have conditioner for my hair, it'd end up feeling like straw and frizz to the point making me look like the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Well, I guess I'll take care of your conditioner surplus problem, thanks for holding on to them."

"We _were_ going to throw them out, but we just hadn't gotten around to doing it, and now that you're here, we don't have to waste it." Leo grinned.

"This works," I smiled as the moment quickly went from an air of gracious thanks to an uncomfortable awkwardness. "I-I'll go shower now…" I stuttered as I took a step backwards and into the bathroom.

The bathroom reminded me of a very small communal bathroom at a swimming pool—it had several sinks and mirrors and two showers with curtains on the far, adjacent sink wall. It was painted the same pale blue as most public bathrooms, only with graffiti-styled bubbles and other miscellaneous cartoons on the blank wall. There were no toilets, so I assumed there was a smaller, more private bathroom for that type of business somewhere else in this expansive place. I hung my pants on one of the small hooks that was mounted next to a shower, put my towels on the other, and dropped my shoes under the hooks. After I turned on the shower and the water was nice and hot, I stepped in and sighed as the warmth of the shower began to soothe my aching muscles and relax my body. I had to stand there for a minute and just indulge in the hot water, I hadn't taken a shower in over—what—four days? I could tell too, I felt grimy, my hair was in greasy knots, and just… Yuck. So I thought I deserved a little bliss after what all I had been through.

After my five minutes of wasting water, I poured almost half the of the little travel-sized bottle of shampoo into my hand and scrubbed until it hurt, rinsed, and squeezed the other half into my hand for round two. When my hair hadn't been washed for over forty-eight hours, it would be greasier than fresh French fries out of the fryer, so that meant two rounds of shampoo. I almost emptied the little conditioner bottle and fingered it through my hair after rinsing out the shampoo. Now onto the dish scrub brush… This was going to be interesting. I loaded up the white brush with soap, lathered it up, and went straight for my shell—I scrubbed until I figured it was clean and continued to the rest of my green body. It had a rather satisfying massaging effect on my thick skin, not scratchy like it would be on fair, human skin, which it would rub raw if scrubbed hard enough. _Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes_ —the little nursery rhyme played in my head as I thoroughly soaped myself in the warm water.

With a final rinse from the soap and conditioner, I turned off the shower and rung out my now clean hair. I grabbed one of the towels from the hooks next to the shower, did the shimmy towel dance and wrapped it around my body, then took the other one off and gave my hair a good towel tousle and wrapped it up on top of my head. I walked over to one of the foggy mirrors, when I saw the blurry green figure in it I hesitated before I wiped it off with my hand—was I _really_ ready to see myself? Was I ready to see this new thing that I have become? What if I wasn't and ended up smashing the mirror because I didn't like what I saw? What if…?

 _Ah, screw it._ I thought angrily as the questions kept buzzing around in my head, the longer I procrastinated, the worse it was going to be. _How bad could it honestly be?_

I wiped away the condensation on the mirror, my face gradually appearing in the wet glass. Once I finished, I stood back and looked at myself. I still looked like me, but I didn't at the same time. My eyes, lips, and cheekbones were the same, but my nose, forehead, brow and jaw line, and skin tone weren't. My nose had been transformed into nostrils and my forehead was sloped ever so slightly as it smoothly led into my now hairless brow line, my jaw was wider, making my face look fuller than it previously was. My skin was thicker, green, and less translucent than what it was before—which was a given since I was now a _reptile_ instead of a human—I was speckled with small freckles and spots and the tone faded smoothly around my mouth and nose to a fairer color. I snarled in the mirror to see my teeth, nothing seemed to have really changed there and the same went with my tongue. This mutation was odd—it affected some fairly specific things and left out some little details. I continued to stare into the mirror as I pulled the towel off my head and scrunched it a few times to see how I looked with it down. Then I pulled it up to see what _that_ looked like, which was weird because I wasn't used to seeing myself without ears and hair over the sides of my head.

 _No._ I thought as I let it back down and ran my fingers through it. I wasn't unhappy with my new appearance, it wasn't like I was _ugly_ … It was just… _Different._


	19. Chapter 18: Middle School Memories

After a few tries with the leg wraps, I eventually succeeded and shimmied the pants in between my butt and shell—apparently the giant thing was _exclusively_ connected to my back, stopping at my waist and just below my shoulder blades. Judging by how loose the waistband and pant legs were and the fact that there were three wraps left, I began to wrap the longer of the three around the top of the pants and then the other two around the bottoms of the pant legs below my knees.

 _These are actual ninja pants..._ I thought as I tucked in the end of the last wrap and stood up from the floor. They were light, baggy, easy to move in, and didn't have any kind of metal that could poke or scratch me or whatever else I would come into contact with. I looked back in the mirror at my new, green, face—it was still odd to see. I shook out my legs with a sigh, collected everything that was deemed as mine, and left the bathroom. I quietly walked back to my room, dumped everything on my messy bed to be dealt with later, and then began to wonder why I hadn't seen any of the other terrapins that lived down here on my way back from the bathroom. I stuck my head out of the door and looked around, the TV was turned off and I didn't hear any voices coming from that direction so I guessed nobody was in there and the arcade games were playing their little melodies in the distance without any interruptions from being played. Where was everybody?

I cautiously snuck out of my room, not wanting to be ambushed with another football sack, and crept towards the kitchen; when I reached the grand, arched entrance of the room, I pressed myself into the wall and carefully listened for any sounds of inhabitance. There weren't any sounds of occupation in the next room, but I did hear muffled voices that echoed off the concrete walls of the kitchen which came from a different room nearby. I peered around the corner just to confirm that there wasn't anyone else in the room since, after all, I was in a household full of trained warriors whose specialty just happened to be stealth. Seeing that the kitchen was indeed vacant, I followed the voices through the catacombs and ended up in front of the plastic curtain of the room I was chased into; blurry figures moved and twirled behind the plastic as shouts and cheers of an audience hooted playfully in encouragement. I gently pushed back a slat in the curtain and stepped in on a heated sparring tournament in between Venus and Leo; Mikey and Raph were on one side of the entrance with Donnie and Splinter on the other, all spectating the fight in between the blues in the shadows around the illuminated floor.

I stood and watched in amazement as Venus gracefully flipped in the air to avoid a swinging foot to the face and landed smoothly, letting the momentum take her down to a low, single-legged squat with her other leg outstretched to her side for balance. She shifted her weight to her other leg and stood up in a single movement—she moved like mercury in a bottle. She flashed Leo a smile and took a step backwards into a defensive position, inviting her opponent to throw another attack. Leo, looking slightly vexed at her small gesture of mockery, fixed his own stance for only a moment and then darted at her with a cocked fist that looked more like a boxer's than a ninja's. The gal blocked the punch but was caught off guard with an uppercut to the ribs from the other hand that made her grunt painfully and send a flying fist for Leo's jaw which was easily swatted away only to be jabbed with pointed fingers that immediately made his whole arm go limp. He cringed and staggered backwards, holding his now useless arm.

"Hey, that's cheating." Leo scowled at her.

"No it is not," Venus smiled boastfully. "It is a skill I know and ninjas are supposed to use their skills to defeat their opponent. It is a legal move." Leo wrinkled his nose at her and looked over at Splinter for support of his argument.

"She is correct, Leonardo," He said with a shrug. "But what is the point of sparring if you cannot be challenged?" He calmly scolded and gently wagged his finger at Venus. "Leonardo wins the match." Venus's face immediately soured as she walked over to the wall and Leo held his head high in victory, still clutching his flopping arm close to his body. "Raphael, Jessie, your turn."

 _"_ _What?"_ I squeaked in dismay.

"It's your turn to spar," Splinter said and looked at me over his shoulder. "Did you not think that I didn't notice you when you came in?" He chuckled with a small smile; I stood there, still shocked that he wanted me to fight. "Don't look so surprised, child, you have to start somewhere."

"B-but against Raph?" I stuttered. He was pitting me against the largest turtle in the room, the one who would be the star tackle on a football team, the one who _actually_ tackled me.

"Mm… Yes." He shrugged as he looked at Raph, who was already standing in the middle of the floor, and back at me. "He needs to learn some self-control anyways."

"Hey!" Raph exclaimed, looking slightly offended.

"It's constructive for the both of you." Splinter said and gave me a cheeky smile.

I sighed nervously and glanced in between the turtle and the rat. I didn't want to do this— _at all._ I was practically skill-less in martial arts since I barely remembered my middle school days of karate and the only fighting that I'd ever done was when a douche bag at school called me a certain name behind my back at lunch when I was in an already bad mood. I won the fight, but I also didn't come away from it unscathed. A stone sunk into my stomach as I stepped out onto the floor and faced my towering foe who looked down at me with a half-sympathetic, half-false-optimistic smile that didn't make me feel any better about my chances.

"The rules are simple," Leo started from the shadows. "Keep it clean—so no bad sportsmanship or cheating and _don't_ go overboard—this is a spar, not a fight-to-the-death match, so show some mercy when needed." His ending statement almost sounded like a plea aimed at his brother, who glanced at Leo at the subtle hint.

"Otagai ni rei." Splinter said after Leo had finished; Raph straightened up then bowed at the waist with his hands pressed into his legs. I stood there in confusion since I didn't speak Japanese and I'd never heard the phrase before.

"Bow." Raph whispered without looking up at me.

"Huh?"

 _"_ _Bow,"_ He hissed and glanced up at me then at Splinter in the shadows. _"Otagai ni rei means 'bow to each other.' I can't move until you bow."_

"Oh." I said quietly and bowed in response. I wasn't completely ignorant to culture, but I did know that a bow in Japanese could be taken as offensive if not done correctly and I hoped that I didn't anger some kind of war-god or the giant rat. After a few seconds, we straightened up together, made eye contact and held it as Raph stepped back into a defensive stance, his face hardening as he did so. I swallowed nervously as I scrambled through my faded memories of middle school karate to try and piece together something offensive to respond to his defense appropriately.

"Hajime!" Splinter called—the one thing I did distinctly remember from karate class was that one word: _Begin._

I licked my lips nervously as I tried to summon up enough courage to even take a step towards the juggernaut I was supposed to attack. After a few seconds that felt like centuries, I finally mustered enough to charge him and throw a punch aimed at his face. He easily blocked it, which I expected, and pushed me backwards, his face hard and practically expressionless as I reeled to keep my still touchy balance. I then tried a right hook to his ribs only to jar my arm as if I hit a concrete wall; I gasped in mild pain and extreme horror as a pang of genuine fear stabbed my chest and set my face ablaze. I gaped up at him as he smirked and punched me right in the gut and sent me flying, I hit the floor and gasped for air, the crowd behind me cringing and grunting in sympathy. I coughed as Leo came up behind me and lifted me up to my feet.

"Try a slap to the face." He said in my ear.

"What good would that do? You guys are literal steel giants to me. I nearly crushed my hand just trying to punch his ribs!" I croaked.

"I know, but just try it."

"But wouldn't that only piss him off and bring the wrath of God upon me?"

"Eh," He shrugged. "Raph's supposed to be going easy on you anyways. How about you try getting angry too? It's not necessarily the best thing to do, but I think it'd be easier for you for the moment." He tapped my shoulder and gave me an encouraging shove back onto the floor.

 _Thanks for the vote of confidence._ I thought sourly as I turned my focus back to the fight at hand. I tried to think of a reason to get angry and nothing came to mind until I remembered what he did to me earlier that morning. As the flame of anger sparked, the lessons in karate started to flood back and an aggressiveness that wasn't there before emerged as I slid into a wide defensive stance and silently invited him to make the next move. He raised an eyebrow at my newfound confidence and decided to take the offense; a smile crept across his lips as he popped his neck and took a threatening step towards me, his arms seeming to lock and load like guns ready to fire rock hard fists in my direction. My stomach dropped a few inches and I made my face turn into a stony glare to cover up the fear of leaving with bruises and a busted lip grew, but now I had no choice other than to fight him so I turned that fear into anger fuel as the mentality of _"Go Hard or Go Home"_ set in.

Raph put on his own game face, which looked more like a death stare with a snarl than a pissy, hard-face that every other ninja in movies wore before they had their huge fight with the antagonist. Again, I used that feeling of intimidation to feed my motivation to fight—maybe I _was_ actually scared out of my mind instead of angry, but it was still something that compelled me to win, no matter how miniscule that chance was. With a final smirk, he charged me like rhino with his fists aimed at my head, it was my turn to play the fleeing bird so I slid out of his path just as he threw a punch towards me and nothing but air. My heart was thumping like a drum as he swung his other arm backwards to try and score a bruise on my face, but I ducked under his arm and jumped up to place a nice, loud slap on his cheek. Even though it stung my hand too, it felt good to land a blow to the colossus I was up against. Raph held his cheek in dismay as if I had just disgraced him, the royal Queen New England, with a bitch-slap to the face. I saw his face begin to twist in anger—nothing was more insulting than a nice strawberry—and, as it seemed, that was only enhanced with the job title of "Ninja." He growled and ran at me again with another punch in his hand with my name on it as I ducked under it and back peddled away from him as he lunged forward to follow up.

"Dang, she's fast." I heard Donnie whisper behind me and a responding grunt in agreement.

I smiled at the hushed compliment and darted at my sparring buddy whose shell was still to me and bounced just high enough for me to do a little tip-tap on the top of his head. He whipped around to do another helicopter swing with his arms as I hopped onto his shell just long enough to avoid the attack and clap my hands on both of his cheeks. He growled angrily as he reached behind him to try and grab me and probably throw me across the room but all his hands grasped at was even more air.

"Enough _taunting!"_ Raph yelled as he back kicked me in the stomach and sent me crashing into the turtles behind me, making several shells crack against the concrete wall behind them. I gasped and doubled over as I tried to get my diaphragm to work again and keep from spilling breakfast all over the floor. I finally sucked in a lung full of air after what seemed like hours and looked up to see Raph standing over me triumphantly. "That'll teach you not to tease a _ninja."_ He turned on his heel and started to walk back to the floor like a champion before he received his title.

"This fight… Ain't over… Yet." I wheezed as my hands curled into fists and my temper began to flare.

"What?" He looked over his shoulder at me like I was some peasant bowing to a god.

"This fight… Ain't _over!"_ I yelled and charged at him with my sights aimed on his mouth. I punched him square in the mouth, making him step backwards for a moment only to come back at me with his own punch and clocked me in the same exact spot. I teetered as I briefly saw spots, shook my head clear, and screamed as I bolted back to him to sock him in the nose then add another slap to his cheek, this one coming with a bruise. He swung at me, I avoided, and let my knuckles crash into his nose, he stepped back again but caught my cheek with his hand on the way. My head spun as the momentum led me to the floor, my face stinging as I landed hard on my hands. I sniffed and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, blood smearing across it as the metallic tasting liquid filled my mouth; I weakly found my feet again as I glared at Raph, who returned the same expression, blood trickling out of his nostrils and down his lip. I spat out a bloody ball of saliva and snarled—I _wanted_ to fight now and was up for the bruises.

I charged him again, now leaping into the air with my heel zeroed in on his chest. He took the hit with a gasp as his diaphragm seized up and dropped to one knee with a lowered head. A blossom of pride sprouted in my chest as I looked up victoriously, feeling like Captain Morgan, then the blossom immediately withered as a hand grabbed my ankle and pulled my foot out from under me as I was lifted upside down into the air, dangling like a limp doll from Raph's grip.

 _"_ _Yame!"_ Splinter bellowed before anything else could happen.

"This fight is _over."_ Raph hissed. _"This_ is mercy." He took my wrist and flipped me back to my feet.

"That was an _incredibly_ violent spar," Splinter scolded as he shook his head angrily. "Raphael, you were supposed to be easy with her and _not_ draw blood. That defeats the whole purpose of a spar! It's a friendly competition that is supposed to be _safe_ and _constructive_." I grinned as Raph caught all the flack for making it aggressive. "Don't think that you're going to get away with this either," The rat turned to me with a stern tone. "As I already elaborated to your _brother,_ sparring is a learning experience that doesn't include violence to the point of splitting lips and bruising eyes. Yes, it is supposed to prepare you for a situation where that may be optimal for your success, but that is exactly what it is supposed to be saved _for—_ an instance where it is only necessary to do such things."

"But Splinter—" I started but was cut off with a quick hand of silence.

"That's _Master Splinter_ to you! I am your teacher in ninjitsu, your _master,_ am I not?"

"Yes—" I shrugged. "But Master Splinter," I started again with the correct title. "You didn't say that I shouldn't hold back, you only told that to Raph. I thought this was an observation of what I was capable of and if I held back, then that wouldn't be an accurate demonstration of what I can do." I was almost pleading not to run laps or do push-ups, since I figured that's what the typical punishment was for a situation like this.

"That is true, but when I told Raphael to show self-control, I was also speaking to you, or at least hoping you would catch the hint to not to try and _kill_ him." He continued as his anger began to subside. "That's a lesson that you will have to learn in your training, it will come to revisit you. I just hope that you'll _listen_ to it next time." I nodded as I lowered my head in shame of not picking up on it. It _was_ a rational concept, but I just wished I had listened. "Now, the both of you need to find icepacks before you begin to turn purple—Michelangelo, please help your brother with tending to his nose. It will need stuffing if it's not to continue to bleed and become all nice and crusty, like it has done before since its owner had neglected to do so."

"Oh I remember," Mikey nodded and put his hands up. "It looked like you had red boogers hanging out your nose for at least a day after that happened." Raph grumbled and followed his brother out of the room.

"As for you," Master Splinter said as he directed his attention to me. "Donatello will see to your first aid as I assume he would object against for anybody else to tend to your injuries." He continued, his voice becoming more emphasized as he finished his sentence. "That beautiful face will begin to bruise and I know none of us wants that."

"You certainly surprised all of us when you busted Raph's face like that." Donnie said as he dabbed my lip with toilet paper.

"I surprised myself, to be honest," I said as I repositioned the ice pack on my bruising cheek. "I was scared out of my pants when I was pitted up against him."

"Yeah, but still, I didn't expect you to actually _know_ how to fight, especially the way you did." Leo said from his perch on the kitchen counter. I was sitting in a chair next to the sink with Donnie seated in front of me and Venus standing beside me with a hand on her hip. They had followed Donnie and I to the kitchen with the first aid kit—whose contents were now scattered across the counter—since the bathroom was already occupied by Raph and Mikey, and everybody agreed that it was probably best that we didn't share the same room for a while.

"Well, even though I don't remember much from middle school, and frankly, I don't really want to, I _do_ remember a little bit from when I was taking karate. I didn't get too far since I lost interest and dropped out when I was just a yellow belt." I explained, not trying to move my mouth since Don was still trying to clean up my face.

"You did karate?" Donnie exclaimed.

"Yeah, but like I said, I didn't get too far. I guess things can come back when they need to."

"It certainly seemed like they did," Venus said as she shifted and crossed her arms. "I know I did not do as well as you did the first time I sparred Raphael." I blushed as I massaged the gel pack on my face with my fingers.

"You really did a number on him," Leo said with a sniff. "Especially to his pride. He honestly needed a reality check since his ego has taken a boost lately."

 _That isn't hard to believe._ I thought with a huff of amusement. Then something that Splinter had said earlier came back to mind.

"Splinter said earlier that Raph was my _brother,_ what is that about?" I asked. "And now that I'm thinking about it, Mikey even said that I was his sister…" I looked up at Leo for an answer.

"Well, you are." He replied simply. I was still confused.

"What Leo means by that is that since you're now a mutant turtle, like us, you've become a part of the family now." Donnie elaborated. "We mutants have to stick together and, honestly, it was only a matter of time until you'd earn the title "Little Sister" in this house."

"This is certainly a change for me," I said as I raised an eyebrow with a sigh. "I'm used to being the oldest kid in the house and even of the grandkids, and now I'm the youngest."

"We'll see how that goes." Donnie muttered as he gently pressed on my chin to open my mouth.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Leo asked in confusion as if he took the impression that his brother was doubting his leadership role—or at least something like that.

"Relax, you don't need to go too wide." Donnie mumbled softly, ignoring Leo's question, as he dabbed clear ointment on my lip and gently applied a closure to hold my split lip together and topped it off with a small strip of tape. "We're going to have to keep that moist so that it heals faster, and lucky for us, the whole mutation deal came with a small healing factor, so your lip will only need that dressing for a day or so. That's how my leg is healing as fast as it is."

 _"_ _Donnie…"_ Leo persisted, determined to get an explanation out of Brainiac.

"What I mean is," Donnie turned to his brother with a sassy head roll. "That since the two of you are used to being the eldest in your families," He pointed at the two of us as he explained. "Thus the more dominant child, your leadership qualities will eventually clash with each other. It's a simple social equation and observation. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians."

"I am still the oldest turtle here," Leo put a thumb to his chest and held his head high like a boastful Sargent. "So I still say what goes."

"Hey now, don't make this a dictatorship, you better take in people's considerations and ideas or _I_ will personally ensure that that big head of yours will lose a little air." I wagged a finger at him. I was not about to be forced into a team that bowed to every single order like puppets without question.

"It's not a dictatorship! I do consider everybody's input and then decide what's the best plan of execution." He tried to put a little humility into his role, but the only thing that I got from that was that he was a little power hungry and didn't want to be taken off of his high horse. Venus snorted at his statement and shook her head as she received a glare from Mr. Leader.

"Whatever." She threw up her hands, giving up on the small argument. "I am going to go meditate, do not disturb me." She turned and started to walk out of the kitchen, then stopped. "On second thought—Jessie, you should come with me, you need to start your Onmyodo training anyways."


	20. Chapter 19: Glowing Water and Mood Rings

I followed Venus to her room, which was significantly cleaner than my room back home, and through a door on the back wall. The room was dimly lit with warm light from at least a dozen large, white, melted candles that sat against an adjacent wall with a bamboo portrait of an old man above them with an incense stand, sending small wisps of sweet smelling smoke into the air. There were mats on the floor that matched the portrait with an unlit candle or two at the end of each one. The room certainly had a relaxing atmosphere to it, but there was also a different type of presence—one that seemed heavy, yet suppressed as if it were a large animal made of energy locked in a cage.

"You feel it," Venus said quietly as she sat down in front of one of the candles and lit it just by pinching the wick. "The energy."

"How did you do that?" I asked in amazement.

"It is Seishin." She said simply. "Seishin is the energy that is one's soul, it is a powerful thing. It can be controlled to do fantastic things—everything from lighting a simple candle to creating a charm that could change a life forever." I sat there for a moment, trying to decide whether I liked this whole "spirit juice" thing. I had a feeling that this is what the Ayakashi was centered around since the name itself meant _"water guardian"_ or something along those lines, so I probably didn't have much of a choice on whether I wanted to do it or not.

"How long is this _soul sauce_ training supposed to take?" I asked skeptically.

"We will train until it is time to face the Mononoke." She sighed. "I just hope that I can teach you enough so you can defeat it when that time comes." She looked down at her lap with a worried expression that didn't seem to focus so much on me as it did herself. She didn't want to let me down, or the world for that matter. "It will not be easy."

"I figured," I huffed. "But I don't have much of a choice, do I? Since the whole premise is if I don't win, the whole world will be damned."

"That is a blunt, but accurate description." She smiled sadly.

"Right," I nodded. "Looks like I'm wasting time talking, so let's get to it." 

After Venus showed me the ins and outs of proper meditating posture and a brief explanation of why a hand needs to be there and folded this way and legs crossed that way with my toes pointed in this specific direction and what candles to light and how it all had to do with energy flow and good vibes. It all seemed a little too hogwashy to me, but I wasn't going to argue with her since she was the expert and all.

"Now, what you will need to do is straighten your posture so you can breathe in as deeply as you can. This will open not only your lungs, but allow your Seishin to flow freely throughout your body and give you easier access to its power." Venus explained as she situated herself on her own mat in front of me, lit her candles on the mat, and inhaled as she closed her eyes and put her fingertips together in front of her chest as she exhaled. "Do this several times until you relax and feel like your conscious is floating in a dark, warm sea."

I wasn't one for the whole meditation thing and thought it makes people look like fools, but if I was to put some kind of purpose behind the last week, I had to try. So I inhaled, mimicked her hand position, and exhaled as my eyes closed, I continued to breathe deeply and keep time with Venus's breaths. I eventually began to relax and pictured myself floating in water under a night sky flecked with twinkling stars, it was such a peaceful sight that I almost fell asleep until I heard my sister's voice, not with my ears, but in my head… Again.

"Jessie, do not go to sleep, that will defeat the whole purpose of this exercise."

"Then, what _is_ the purpose? Just float here until something happens?" I asked as I looked up at the inky sky, where her voice seemed to be radiating from.

"This first lesson is for you to become aware of the Universal Common and energy that is all around you—the energies of our brothers, the organisms living with us beneath the streets, and those who are above." She explained.

"That seems a little much for this first time…" I said softly.

"It is not hard," She continued. "It just sounds hard. All you need to do is learn how to access the Universal Common and from there you can reach out and sense all that there is. Eventually, you will be able to access the Universal Common on command and tap into its power almost instantly and without much effort. Only when you master that will this become one of your greatest and strongest tactics. But for now," Her voice lowered to a softer tone. "We will keep it simple. I want you to reach out with your _mind_ and feel everything in this room—imagine your Seishin are like long tentacles that can sense spiritual energy. Look for mine."

"How do I do that?" I asked in confusion as I continued to stare up at the starry sky above me.

"I-it is hard to explain," She said hesitantly. "But it feels like you are spreading out like melted ice cream covering a table, you are, physically, the soft scoop in the center and your Seishin is the melted liquid that is spreading from you. Feel out into that melted puddle and see what you sense."

It was a strange analogy and it somewhat helped me get a picture of what I was supposed to do. I didn't know how to reach the "melted ice cream" state, and, honestly, didn't want to become a sticky puddle, so I used the next best thing, the water that was surrounding me. I closed my eyes, spread out like a starfish on the water's surface, and cleared my head like I was the water itself. Water doesn't think, so neither did I. My arms and legs began to get warm along with a little mass in my stomach until something clicked and I felt everything. I was suddenly aware of the candle in front of me and the small aura of warmth that radiated from it, a few cockroaches behind me in the corner of the room, even the unlit candles on the mats surrounding me. I opened my eyes and the sight was even more spectacular than the sensations. I looked up into the starry sky to see all that I felt as illuminated outlines that pulsed against the dark. I saw the glowing candle in front of me, Venus's candle, and then her herself—Venus was like a torch against everything else, she radiated light like she was a sun with the epicenter being her heart, glowing a bright orange that swelled every time she breathed. I stared in awe as I continued to look around the room, seeing every little flickering and glowing thing move like a flame.

"Does everything look like this here?" I asked as I made a few strokes in the water to turn myself around and get a different perspective and then noticed that the water itself was now a glowing aqua color.

"Essentially, yes." Venus said, her glowing form shrugging at my question. "What you are seeing are auras of Seishin, they are all around us and in every living thing."

"Then what about the—"

"The candles are special spiritual candles—they can enhance Seishin flow, be lights for when the Universal Common is dark, and just act as regular candles in the physical world. It is nice to have something that is multipurpose." She explained and it seemed like this wasn't the first time that she had.

"How about the water I'm floating in, can you see that?" I asked as I lifted up my hand and watched the glowing liquid drip off my fingers.

"I cannot see everything you see and you cannot see everything that I see, but I can explain what you are floating in—it is your own consciousness and it is unique only to you. I am not _in_ your mind, just simply connected to it, like one technology piece to another through a cord. What are you seeing?" She asked.

"The water is glowing blue and you look like an orange flame. I honestly would've thought that you'd be aqua—like your mask."

"No," She chuckled. "That is merely a physical and cosmetic feature. All large living organisms are usually a warm color like that because that is essentially what a spirit is—a flickering flame of life."

"Wow," I said as I swirled my hands in the water. "What do you see?"

"I see you," She said with a small giggle. "You are a bright, luminous yellow, like a star that Donatello had pointed out when we were watching an astronomy documentary. You are certainly a bright one with so much strength and potential." I blushed at her description, it almost seemed like a sappy thing that my boyfriend would say and flirt with. "Now you are a deep red, are you flattered?" She laughed.

"How did you know?" I asked as my face began to burn in embarrassment.

"When someone feels a particular emotion, especially if it is strong and passionate, their Seishin aura can change colors. The deep crimson that you currently are presenting is representative of emotions such as flattery and embarrassment, bright red is anger, rage, and frustration, Raphael's Seishin is usually something within that rage. Yellow and its different shades is more of concentration and happiness, like the colors that you and I are currently and is often common in Donatello when he is working. Orange is more related to the feeling of chaos, panic, nervousness, and being overwhelmed, it may be a bright and happy color, but it is also associated with disorder and fear. Bright green is usually an innocent confusion or complete cluelessness, dark green is peaceful, and calm which is the usual color of Master Splinter and Leonardo. Purple is associated with love, hope, and compassion—you were that color as you tended to our wounds in Kentucky."

"Well… I-I… You know why I had to." I wasn't sure how I liked this mood ring effect, it was pretty revealing if you thought about it.

"Yes," Her glowing silhouette nodded as she continued. "Blue is despair and sadness, that is where the idiom of "feeling blue" came from." She chuckled. I giggled with her until I noticed she left out a few colors.

"What about white or black? Do those mean anything?"

"Yes," She nodded as her aura began to go from its original bright luminous yellow to a reddish-orange color, something I concluded that was not quite anger, but a negative emotion that was pretty close to it. "White is representative of no emotion, that is usually the color of inanimate objects or simple organisms such as the spirit candles," She said as if it were an off note. "But black, or something with a white silhouette but dark within, is usually an evil deity. Demons, evil spirits, and other dark supernatural beings usually have these characteristics. Sometimes their silhouettes are different colors that can change like you and I, but they are nevertheless evil." Her voice was now solemn as blue began to swirl inside the red-orange color, as if she was feeling several different emotions at the same time… "If someone is possessed by a demon, their Seishin may still be visible—small and afraid…" Blue was now blooming from her chest and overtaking the orange.

"Have you seen that before?" I asked tenderly.

"Yes…" Venus answered quietly. "A close friend of mine at the Onmyodo temple in Japan was tempted by a Mononoke and succumbed. He was empowered by the Mononoke's evil and wreaked chaos upon our peaceful sanctuary; I was about eight years old and he was twelve. I will never forget what happened."

"What happened to him?" I asked quietly.

"They could not exorcise the demon, so he had to be executed… It was horrifying. They had to perform a special ritual so that the Mononoke did not come back to haunt our temple and tempt another soul." She sighed shakily. "I hope that this Mononoke that you are to face will not be buried so deep that the host will have to be killed. But of course, we have the Ayakashi now." She said as the blue began to fade into a purple color along with some hope in her voice. "Things will be different this time."

 _I sure hope so_. I thought as self-doubt began to crawl into my mind as I swirled the water as. This was no small and simple task, and I already knew that, but hearing that story just made my already big job seem even larger than my original impression. I didn't like the thought of killing anyone either, especially if there was a way to avoid it—if I couldn't let five wounded turtles go without care, then killing someone or something was not going to be easy for me.

"I know that this is overwhelming," She said in a soft, but hopeful tone. "But that is why I am here. I will lead and train you so that you will be able to defeat the Mononoke. I have faith in you, Sister, you are strong—stronger than you think—and I believe that you will be triumphant."

"Thanks," I said quietly. I was still overwhelmed by the thought of having such a huge task thrust onto me, but her words of encouragement and the tone of her voice comforted me a little and gave me _some_ confidence in what I would be capable of. "I just hope that I'm psyching myself out and blowing it farther out of proportion than what it'll actually be." I chuckled nervously.

"Me too." She nodded as I could almost see a smile spread across her glowing face.

I knew that I had more than just Onmyodo training ahead of me, in fact, that was probably only half of it. If my growing hunch was correct, the other half would be purely physical since this demon probably wouldn't go down without a fight. Why else would Splinter and the boys be so interested in sparring and encouraging me to fight? They weren't the type to train nonstop just for the heck of it, there had to be a motif behind everything in this household and the motif for my inevitable Turtle Edition of Ninja P-90X was probably somehow related to preventing D-Day part two from happening.

This was going to be fun.


	21. Chapter 20: Ping's Sushi

_**Chapter 20: Ping's Sushi and Japanese Kitchen**_

The rest of that day was spent learning to keep from falling asleep while meditating and keeping a clear head without having a conversation or interacting with something to keep me preoccupied. I eventually got fed up and faked it until Venus thought that I'd had enough for the day—she probably saw through my act and just concluded training since there wouldn't be any more progress made, or, at least, I wouldn't have tried. By the time evening came around, I was mentally exhausted and nobody really bothered to ask what Venus and I did for the past six hours; maybe they already knew what it was like to sit still like that for hours on end and didn't really need an inside scoop. I walked around the Lair tiredly observing everybody doing their own thing—Venus dismissed me without following me out of her room, so she was probably still in there, I guessed that Raph was in the weight room based on the booming bass of intense rap that echoed from it, Donnie was in his corner of computers, hunched over something and mumbling to himself, Leo and Splinter were nowhere to be found, but I didn't go looking for either them for fear of invading privacy, and Mikey was vegged out on the pizza box couch with a leg propped up on the back of it and watching some obscure show with what seemed like half-interest. I walked around the makeshift couch and plopped down at the opposite end without saying anything and blankly watched the cheesy gameshow on the TV, I felt like a mindless zombie—just spaced with nothing happening upstairs.

"'Sup?" Mikey asked with a nod in my direction as he propped his head up in his hand to look at me.

"I feel dead inside." I mumbled without taking my eyes off of the TV.

"Like… Soulless dead or tired dead? Because that can mean two _totally_ different things."

"Exhausted," I sighed and rolled my head in his direction. "How does she do it?"

"Bruh, that is beyond me." He chuckled. "I'm surprised you were even able to make it as long as you did."

"Me too," I smiled. "Do you know where I could something to eat around here?" I asked to change the subject.

"Do you even know who I am?" Mikey asked as he swung his leg off of the back of the couch and sat up with a growing smile.

"Maybe not completely…" I shrugged. "I do know that you're one heck of a cook."

"Well, yeah," He nodded nonchalantly. "But I am also a pizza coinsurer," He put his fingers up to his lips and kissed them like a pleased Italian chef as he adopted the accent of one. "I know the best eats in town! So what are 'ya hungry for? You may also want to choose wisely, I have a feeling that either Leo or Donnie are going to put you on the super-food diet that excludes all of the fun things to help with your training."

"Oh…" I sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better enjoy it while it lasts then…" I love carbs and wasn't all that much into salads and avocados. If I was going to enjoy my last tastes of _anything_ good, then it'd _have_ to be good. "But I don't know… Probably nothing too greasy and I do _not_ do spice."

"Okay, well, that cancels out about all of the small hole-in-the-wall shops, Indian, and half of the Mexican joints." He commented as he put his hand on his chin in thought. "Asian or Italian work?"

"Eh…" I shrugged. "Are there any good sushi places around here?"

"Oh sure! There's a great little place not too far from here that we're pretty regular to. He knows about us and doesn't mind serving any of us." He exclaimed with a smile. I was a little surprised at this—a _human_ who ran his own restaurant didn't care about the giant turtles who would come in for food and the possibility of scaring off his other customers? Was this man blind or simply didn't give two shits about who he served? Whatever his motif, it was nice to know that we could go in without the threat of judgement or even being thrown out like how I guessed they often were with other similar small businesses.

"What about everyone else?" I asked after snapping out of my tired state of thought.

"What about 'em?" Mikey asked as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow and got up from the cardboard sofa.

"Do you think that they'll notice that either of us are gone? I know at least Donnie would have a conniption over me leaving the Lair and Leo might get mad for disappearing without telling anyone." I said sheepishly as I looked over my shoulder out into the rest of the Lair.

"Don't worry about it," He waved me off. "We usually disperse and do our own thing around this time of night—alone time if you will."

"Oh…" I said quietly.

"So if I were to go and get say, a pizza, now would be the time. We typically end up doing our own thing for dinner as well, so they wouldn't question _my_ absence."

"Yeah, but what about _me?_ I'm the one everybody's concerned about."

"Then we can make it look like you've already gone to bed. I mean, you _did_ meditate for an unnaturally long time, so the fact that you'd want to sleep would make sense." Mikey smiled as he came around the side of the couch and wrapped an arm around my neck. "C'mon, you'll be fine." I still wasn't convinced. "Alright, how about this: we set up your bed to look like you're out cold? Rearrange some pillows and the covers."

 _Well, I guess that could work..._ I thought with an uneasy shrug. I didn't want to get in trouble, but sushi sounded _so_ good…

I followed Mike from under his arm back into my room and let _him_ do all of the pillow positioning. If we were to get caught, it'd be all his fault. It wasn't my idea to sneak off necessarily, I was just hungry, and it was all _his_ idea to make a faux me out of pillows to fool everyone I went to bed early. After switching off the lights and making sure everything was in its perfect place, he snuck me out of the Lair through a back tunnel and took me up and on to the streets. After climbing up the fire escape of a quiet apartment building, we stopped as my brother looked out over the skyline.

"A breezy, but beautiful night." He sighed with a smile and put his hands on his hips. I came up beside him and looked out over the city with my arms wrapped around me as my hair was tousled by the wind. It really was a beautiful sight, the lights in the skyscrapers' windows were lit up like small fireflies against a tall and ominous figure of the night, neon signs were just different colored shapes from afar, advertising above their businesses, helicopters and planes blinked in the sky, everything seemed to be full of light and moving even if they weren't. Maybe it was just the distant sound of cars and sirens that gave even the buildings that sense of movement.

"It really is." I said quietly. "It's a different kind of beauty compared to back home and the stars there… A modernized, chaotic beauty."

"Ahh, yup." Mike stretched as he took in a lungful of air. "Anyways, let's get some food." He down looked at me with a smile. I returned a look with a raised eyebrow of expectation, I had no clue where we were going or how we'd get there, but I _did_ know that I was hungry.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"Ping's. Mr. Ping is the best sushi chef around! His shop is just a few blocks down the road." He pointed down the sleepy street which took a soft turn and disappeared behind the corner.

"Okay… Then why did we come up through that manhole when there's probably another one that's closer?" I asked. It's not like we could just walk the streets under the lights where we could be seen, we were fine in the sewer where we couldn't be seen by passersby.

"Because one," He turned to me and held up a finger. "The tunnels by his shop smell _awful_ , two: it's cleaner up here—we don't want to walk smelling bad with even worse funk on our hands," I didn't know that Mikey could be so concerned with hygiene when he was probably the messiest one, but then again, I've been wrong about him before. "Three: running rooftops is always better."

"Running rooftops?" I asked nervously. "Like, jumping from one to another without any kind of safety?"

"Yup." He said simply.

"B-but I can't—"

"Sure, you can! I heard what you did earlier today, if you can do that jump, then you can do these buildings."

"But that was jumping _down,_ not _across."_ I really did not want to do this. I was surprised that I even made it out of that room _without_ my shins going through my kneecaps.

"It's the same concept." Mikey shrugged. "Run, jump, and land with your feet together. Simple." I uneasily glanced at the edge of the roof with a small whimper. "It's not even that big of a gap! You'll be jumping much bigger here shortly, I can guarantee you that. Leo and Donnie will be running you through jumping drills for both science and training, trust me. He's evaluated how each of us jump, you're gonna be no exception." He smiled half-heartedly. "Look, if you don't jump by yourself, I'm gonna throw you across." He was getting impatient.

"Please don't."

"Well, then _go."_

"Y-you go first. Let me watch how you do it." It was half-truth and half procrastination for doing the inevitable. Mike sighed, dropped his shoulders, and rolled his eyes like a young, angsty teenager who had just been told "no." He took a few steps backwards and sprinted at the edge of the rooftop, leaping over the ledge of the roof, flipping through the air, and sticking the landing like a trained circus acrobat. He then turned around and looked at me expectantly with his hands on his hips and a raised eyebrow from the neighboring roof.

It was now my turn and I knew that if he had to come back over and shove me off that dinner wouldn't be as enjoyable as originally intended. I shuffled to the ledge of the roof and looked down into a dark alley with fire escapes on either wall and litter fluttering in the draft between the buildings. I stepped backwards and looked hesitantly over at the orange masked turtle who was looking at me with more sass than a flaming gay man, his hip now popped out to the side. I sucked in a lungful of air as I worked up my courage to jump. What was the worst that could happen? I fall into a damp alley and dislocate my knees or completely split my shell on a handrail and then get suffocated by Donnie's medical attention and Leo's nagging for going out without his knowing? Not to mention that putting me out of commission for saving the world and all. Compared to the possible consequences of a fall versus sucking it up, jumping, and getting food, reaching the other apartment building seemed like the better outcome.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I was already running towards the edge of the apartment roof; there was no turning back now, I had too much momentum and _would_ end up as pureed turtle if I tried to stop. I held my breath as I stepped up on the ledge and propelled myself forward as hard as I could, aimed for the next roof with reeling arms and Mikey watching and opening up to catch me as I came in for the landing. Apparently, I was leaning too far forward and was on a path to eat concrete and roofing asphalt. So instead of landing on my feet like I was supposed to, I fell awkwardly into my brother who had gotten in front of me and collided chest-to-chest, effectively pushing the held air out of my lungs and forcing a grunt out of Mikey.

"See? Told 'ya you could make it." He panted painfully as he set me down so that I could catch my breath. My hands immediately went to my knees as I bent over and gasped for air. Not only did I hit him hard enough to empty my lungs, I hit him so squarely that the impact squished my boobs through my plastron, which opened up a whole new world of womanly pain. I may be a turtle now, but, apparently, sensitive places will always be sensitive, no matter your species. Once I got over my mammary discomfort, I straightened up with a sigh to give Mikey a well-salted glare.

"What? You'll have to do it soon anyways." He retorted. "Be thankful it was me, Leo would've barked at you until you jumped or let Raph throw you off, so the fact that you did it willingly was for the better." He wagged a finger as he walked across the roof.

"I wouldn't say that I did it _willingly,"_ I grumbled. "It was more like peer pressure."

"It was still better than what it _could've_ been." Mikey shrugged. "Plus, it'll get you more brownie points from Leo for "mustering up the courage" to actually jump by yourself without this much persuasion."

"Who says that I'll more comfortable jumping? Just because I did it tonight doesn't mean I'll want to later." I said as I put a hand on my hip. Sure, I was brave, but I also liked my security, the whole reassurance thing that included _not_ dying doing ninja parkour.

"Eh, it'll come easier;" He shrugged. "Now, off to food!" It was more of a transition that said _"I'm done with this, lets change the subject"_ than anything.

We walked across the roof to the other side which was met with _another_ roof. Mikey hopped across no problem, but I hesitated for a minute, not so much scared, but angry that I had to jump again and I didn't want to have to go through the conversation that we just had and it didn't help that my brother was watching me expectantly with crossed arms. So I sucked in a breath and took the leap with my eyes squeezed shut. I landed hard on my feet which completely jarred and locked up my knees, making me fall forward onto my already painful joints. I winced and shook my head and gratefully took Mike's offered hand up as I stiffly got back to my feet.

"See? It's not as bad as the first." He smiled warmly; I rolled my eyes with a huff and limped across the roof behind him. That jump wasn't as far as the previous one, but it was still kind of embarrassing that I hesitated over something that I'd already done and made an unnecessarily big deal out of. We continued across the quiet skyline, with me steadily becoming more comfortable with jumps, even with my questionable grace and efficiency, until we stopped on the corner of a building facing a small line of closed shops illuminated by pale, old, fluorescent bulbs behind their glass storefronts and dark bowels that could send eerie chills down someone's spine. All were black except for a single shop directly in front of us; there was an illuminated sign above the store in large, red, letters that read "Ping's Sushi and Japanese Kitchen" with a temperamental bulb flickering behind the white plastic. Inside the small shop was white, which was only emphasized by the fluorescence of the long tubes in the ceiling, a counter that took up the back corner of the store with a display filled with different foods was visible from the roof along with simple tables and chairs and booths.

"Ahh…" Mikey grinned as he took in a deep breath of air. "Can you smell it? The cooking of Kaito Ping—it wafts so wonderfully." He inhaled again and wore the face of someone who was smelling the best baked bread of the century. I sniffed the air and all I caught was the smell of burnt motor oil and street grime with a hint of seasoned chicken broth, stir fry, and steamed rice in the background.

"I guess…?" I shrugged as I continued to sniff the air. Even though the scent of food was overpowered by car exhaust and a rancid dumpster from a nearby alley, I was enough to make my hungry stomach growl.

"On to it then!" He proclaimed and jumped off the building and did a grab-and-drop on the handrails of the protruding apartment patios below. Even though Mikey's way was definitely quicker and more direct, I opted for the fire escapes on the side of the building which were closer together and farther out of sight. Sure, I was gaining confidence in jumping in between buildings, but I wasn't to the point of trusting my new body that much _just_ yet.

When I finally got to the ground, I peeked around the corner of the apartment building to look for my brother; when I didn't see him around the first-floor patios, or the front of the building for that matter, I slowly began to enter panic mode. I frantically looked up and down the street for the giant turtle and saw nothing but dark stores and flying newspapers caught up in the evening breeze, then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Across the street was a Mikey casually waltzing up to the store's doors like he didn't have a care in the world.

 _That son-of-a—!_ I thought angrily as he swung the door open bounced his happy self in. The least he could've done was wait for me! So, with a few weary glances up and down the sleepy street, I bolted across and to the store front. I peeked through the window and saw Mikey casually conversating with a small Asian man behind the counter, with a final glance around over my shoulder, I pushed open the door and slipped in and straight for Mike's arm.

"'Bout time you got here!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

"You didn't wait for me." I hissed quietly.

"You just took too long." He replied in a slightly annoyed tone. "Anyways, Mr. Ping, this is my new sister, Jessie!" I immediately felt my face get hot as the small man squinted at me through thick, coke bottle glasses.

"Hello." I said softly. This was classic five-year-old Jessie when she met new people—quiet, shy, and reserved. It was something that I _had_ outgrown several years ago, an instinctual knee-jerk reaction when I was unexpectedly put into an uncomfortable situation and didn't have the confidence to speak for myself—I was currently in an uncomfortable situation around a new person and had no confidence.

Mr. Ping leaned on the counter and squinted at me with a studious and rather intimidatingly judgmental expression on his face.

"You are new sister?" He asked forcefully with a nearly unintelligible Japanese accent.

"Yes."

"Why you have hair? Why you not bald?"

"Well, uh—"

"Ah, no matter," He waved me off. "All other of you hard to tell apart anyways, all big and green. I only know by how they speak. Mr. Ping no can see, you will be easy for Mr. Ping. You no look like others." He pointed at me with a smile. "Michelangelo say you not come from New York."

"No sir, I don't."

"Where from?"

"Kentucky."

"Kentucky? Like Kentucky Fried Chicken?"

"Yes…" I sighed. That was basically the first and only thing that people associated with the state who weren't from a bordering state.

"That chicken bad." Mr. Ping's face soured as he stuck out his tongue in disgust. He wasn't wrong. Just because the restaurant chain had my state's name in it didn't mean that I liked the food. "Anyways, what I make for you?" He turned back to squint Mikey through his glasses. Mr. Ping was a short man who had to be no taller than 5'4" and looked to be in his late fifties or early sixties with a face full of deep wrinkles that correlated with his constant squinting. His eyes were barely visible from under his eyelids, even with extra strength, magnifying glass-like lenses in frames that seemed to be straight out of the 90s—the man was nearly blind. He wore a white diner hat over a closely shaven head with a white t-shirt and stained apron.

"I'll have…" Mikey scanned a laminated menu on the counter with a thoughtful face. "A spicy tuna roll with an order of pot stickers."

"Oh, so you change up on me Michelangelo?" He asked without changing his somewhat impatient expression. "You? What you want?" He then turned to me; I slid the menu across the counter to look at what all he had to offer. The laminated paper was a simple assembly with headings that included _"Fresh Sushi", "Wok Creations", "Authentic Soups",_ and _"Sides"_ with a list of fountain drinks in the bottom corner. I skimmed the list of sushi choices but went with my default anyways.

"May I have a crab roll and an egg roll?"

"Yes, Mr. Ping have that for you in jiffy." He nodded with a smile and whipped around to start on the orders in the small kitchen area which was all behind the counter. Stove and all with the door of the walk-in fridge next to a small fryer.

"So how did you even meet this guy without scaring him all the way back to Japan?" I asked as Mikey turned and made his way over to the barstools at the other side of the counter.

"We tried it when we were younger, back when we were just beginning to get enough confidence to go up by ourselves and have enough skill to stay out of sight. Mr. Ping is older than what you think," He said as he took a seat at one of the stools and leaned against the counter with his shell facing the store front as I sat at the stool next to him. "He's actually about eighty, so he's seen enough in his life not to be surprised by whatever walks in those doors. Sure, he was a little confused as to _what_ we were when we first came in and asked a few questions, but, pretty soon, he just waved it off. He just doesn't care." Mikey chuckled and watched the little man quickly and expertly flip the pot stickers in a sizzling pan then go on to a small island in the middle of the kitchen space and begin to set up a bamboo mat to assemble and roll the sushi. "There are very few places around here that don't mind us." He said solemnly.

"Well, it's nice that you—er— _we_ have options like this," I corrected myself since I was now a part of the community of mutant misfits. "Where you're treated like an equal instead of…" I trailed off as the idea of what we could actually be called set in.

"It's okay, you get used to the names over time." He said and pressed his lips together with a sigh. I could've finished my sentence, but it didn't seem necessary, he got the idea. We sat in silence for a minute until he couldn't take it anymore "Venus is his favorite though."

"How come?" I asked

"Because she's the one from Japan," He chuckled. "They can have private conversations right in front of us in Japanese since none of us really know enough to understand what they're saying."

"And because she prettiest of you," Mr. Ping piped in with a laugh. "Mr. Ping may not see good, but he see enough to know lady's figure. But you may be competition," He pointed his chef's knife towards me as he paused from cutting a roll of sushi. "You have nice figure and hair." He laughed at himself as he went back to cutting.

Mikey chuckled and shook his head "Did I mention that flirting is a hobby of his?"


	22. Chapter 21: Ghost on the Roof

"Here your food." Mr. Ping said cheerily as he placed dishes of food in front of us. The sushi roll he placed in front of me was tightly rolled and beautifully garnished and my egg roll looked crispy and appetizing; it was like something out of one of those stupid expensive restaurants where something like this would be cheap if it were fifty dollars. I glanced over at Mikey's dish as he tapped his chopsticks excitedly together and licked his lips as he went in for the kill. His dinner looked just as spectacular as mine with his pot stickers still steaming. Then it hit me. I didn't know how to use chopsticks… In a Japanese kitchen. Next to someone who had been raised in a somewhat Americanized Traditional Japanese Culture. How was I going to do this without looking like a buffoon? So what did my uncultured ass do?

"Uh, Mr. Ping…?" I asked shyly. "Do you have anything else I can eat this with besides chopsticks?"

"I do," He nodded. "But I will not give to you." I was about to argue why when he put a finger up to silence me. "You learn how to use chopsticks, so I will no give you fork, you use this." He held up a small, plastic, circular contraption that had two, little, straw-like holes attached to it on either side of the circle. "This for children, but you may use since you not know how to use chopsticks."

He handed me the small plastic circle, which I then flipped over in my hand and finally figured out what it was. I was supposed to put the sticks in the holes and it'd hold the sticks together so that I didn't have to worry about trying to keep them in my hand and just focus on pinching the food in between them. It did make me feel a bit like a simpleton, but it would be better than using a fork. Once I figured out how the small contraption worked, I was digging into the sweet rice and crab and was blown away by how good it was.

"Whaddya think?" Mikey asked through a mouthful of his own sushi.

"It's spectacular! I've never had anything like it before!" I exclaimed as I swallowed what was in my mouth. "There's nothing quite like authentic dining." I smiled at the small man behind the counter.

"Arigatō." Mr. Ping bowed politely.

"That means _"thank you"."_ Mikey leaned over and whispered in my ear; it was a favor I didn't ask for but was appreciated. I nodded and continued to eat my succulent dinner and chuckled at my brother as he proceeded to scarf down his food like it was the first meal he'd had in a week.

Then I felt a prickle on my neck… Not the kind of when someone actually pokes the back of your neck with something for laughs, but the hair-raising prickle that said something wasn't right—the primal fight or flight sense. There was something or some _one_ nearby that radiated a vibe that immediately freaked me out. I got stiff and held my breath as I felt it move. Even though I was pretty new at this whole Seishin and worldly energy thing, I could feel this without even trying, the door was already open, and this chilling, electric breeze of dark energy was drafting through. I glanced at Mikey who seemed oblivious to what I was sensing and kept gorging his face like a pig and hadn't picked up on my discomfort; Mr. Ping had already turned away from us and was busying himself with cleaning up the dishes from the day. It wasn't in immediate proximity of us, but it was close enough for me to sense its movements. I sat still as I focused on where exactly this thing was. By this time Mikey had caught on to my paranoia. He stopped eating and completely lost his joyous aura when he saw my rigid body language.

"Jessie, what's wrong?" He asked in a serious tone and leaned forward to look at my face. I didn't look at him, but right into space as this maleficent energy absorbed my focus as if I was a small bug drawn to a light.

"There—there's something…" I trembled as I felt it get closer. "Across the street. Up. It's _evil."_ I whispered shakily.

"What do you mean?" He prodded urgently. "What's evil?"

"I-I don't know what it is. But I can feel it…" I swallowed as my trembling turned into shaking. _"I can sense it."_ I turned to look at him with watery eyes then I caught a glimpse of it through the open Seishin door that flickered in and out of my regular vision… Where everything else around it was the standard white of simple beings and the inanimate, it was _black_ and right where I sensed it.

" _Where?"_ Mikey took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes as his began to fill with fear and panic. I leaned my head to look over his shoulder and across the street and that's when my blood ran cold.

On top of the adjacent building was a shadowy and towering figure walking to the edge of the roof and stopping to look out over the city. It was wearing what looked like a fitted duster that flapped in the wind, but that wasn't the scariest part—this silhouette was specific to only one type of being. It was a giant turtle. But it didn't belong to any I knew, it was too tall, and its shell was different. He wasn't any of my brothers. _That_ was the evil thing that I was sensing.

"Mike…" I wavered without taking my eyes off of it. He slowly turned his head to follow my line of sight and I felt his body tense up as he gaped. "That isn't…"

"That isn't one of us," He finished shakily. "I-I don't know who that is." We both sat there like statues and watched the dark figure continue to survey the nightscape, too afraid to move. He stood on the corner of the roof for what seemed like eons, studying the neighborhood like a king looking out over his kingdom from a castle tower: Regal, cold, and unmoving. I couldn't see his face, but I could almost feel his shifting gaze, like the Eye of Sauron, skimming everything.

Then a flash of lightning streaked the sky and illuminated the roof and the ghostly figure for a brief moment but long enough to see that his skin _was_ green, his flapping coat was black with a yellow lining, and that he was focused on our little shop. His gaze became piercing as the flash threw light into bright yellow eyes and sent a new chill down my spine so cold that I forgot to breathe.

"We need to go…" Mikey said as he slid off of his stool and kept himself in between me and the front of the store without taking his eyes off of the figure on the roof. "Mr. Ping, can we get our food to go?"

"Yes, no problem Michelangelo, I get your food packed." The sushi chef said, still oblivious to our distress. I couldn't stop staring. I was too afraid to. I didn't want to turn my back on something as menacing as that knowing that he was still within eyesight. I gripped Mikey's shell as the thunder rumbled through the heavens with another, nearly simultaneous bolt of lightning, making those eyes almost glow as he disappeared as suddenly as the electricity in the sky came and went.

"He's gone…" I breathed with my eyes still glued to the corner that it was standing on as if it was going to reappear just as quickly as it disappeared.

"Yeah," Mikey said uneasily and then turned around to look me in the face. "And we're not going back that way. Are you okay?" I slowly shook my head as I pulled my gaze away from the corner to look at my brother's concerned expression. "Alright, well, we'll go out the back and through the sewer back home, Leo and Venus need to know about this. Sure, I'll probably be the one to get most of the flack," He shrugged with an uneasy cringe. "But this is too important _not_ to report. Up until just now, _we_ were the only mutants in the city…" He gripped my shoulders as that new reality set in. _"We_ were the only ones…"

"Here your food." Mr. Ping said as he placed two foam to-go boxes in plastic bags on the counter with a squinty grin.

"Thanks," Mikey said hastily as he was pulled from his reality raincheck and began to dig through a pocket in his pants. "Here's a twenty, keep the change, we're leaving through the back." He placed the bill on the counter, put one bag in the other, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, steered me through the open kitchen and out a door next to the walk-in fridge.

" _Sayōnara yūjin!"_ Mr. Ping called as the door closed behind us. I didn't know what he meant, but when as we made it into the small alley behind the store, I became too distracted by a new paranoia that struck my chest.

 _What if he's still out here?_ I glanced around at the rooftops above my head as the few raindrops that found their way into the alley fell on my face. _What if he saw us? Did he see us?_ My head was swimming with anxieties as my shaken soul could barely contain itself. I'd never experienced something so _evil_ and know it without even seeing it—or sensing it for that matter.

The thunder rumbled once more before Mikey led me down a manhole into the sewers, away from whatever evil lurked above.

" _Where_ have you been?" Leo barked as Mikey and I walked back into the Lair.

"I can explain—" Mike began as he defensively pulled me in tighter and away from our upset brother, putting himself in between me and Leo.

"We've been looking all over for you guys! Where did you go?" He continued as the rest of the household heard the yelling and gathered around us from every angle wearing less-than-pleased expressions.

" _That's_ the _least_ of our problems right now!" He barked back.

"Jessie! Where'd you go? Are you hurt? What did you do?" Donnie exclaimed as he rushed up to me and started to dote over me like an overprotective mother. I was startled and jumped from his sudden presence, still shaken and anxious from what had happened above, leaving him with a shocked and concerned expression on his face.

" _How_ is that the least of our issues?" Leo yelled. Mikey was about to shoot back but then stopped himself as he glanced at me and all of my wide-eyed paranoia.

"Because…" He said in a quieter tone.

"Because _why?"_

"Because we aren't the only ones anymore…" I squeaked softly.

"I'm sorry?" Leo craned his neck like a bossy, douchebag, jock who thinks he runs the school halls and was trying to hear what the little weakling nerd had whimpered before he beat him up and taken his lunch money.

"We aren't the only ones." I said and made eye contact with him. Then everything was silent. Leo's anger immediately melted away as bewilderment and worry overtook his face and spread to the rest of the family.

" _What?"_ Raph whispered and looked over at Master Splinter who let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes and stroked his thin goatee.

"W-we saw a figure on the roof across from Mr. Ping's," I started shakily. "I sensed him first. His silhouette didn't match any of yours—he was taller than Donnie, but as broad and muscled as Leo," I continued as I glanced in between the two of them. "His shell was shaped differently, it almost seemed like a perfect shape and he was wearing a long, black duster coat and his eyes…" I trailed off as mine began to burn with tears as I remembered their piercing glare. "Were yellow."

"Yellow?" Venus asked hastily as she pushed Donnie out of the way, dropped down to her knees, and grabbed my hand. "His eyes were yellow?" I nodded as tears trickled down my face. "And you _sensed_ him?"

"Yes," I wavered. "Before I even saw him. His Seishin was _black…"_ I broke down and covered my face with my hands as the cold fear flooded back into my chest.

"Mononoke…" Venus breathed as she pulled me into her chest and hugged my head. "She's found the Mononoke…"

" _Already?"_ Leo hissed as I heard him groan and his feet shuffle. "But she literally _just_ got here, and we've barely even _started_ training!"

"All the more reason to start immediately." Splinter said softly with a stern tone. "But not tonight; tonight, Leonardo, we begin to formulate. We must start preparations."

"I will need to be a part of this." Venus demanded.

"Of course, my daughter, you alone are responsible for nearly half of her training whereas the physical aspect with be a shared one. We are no experts in Onmyodo."

"Sensei, what do you mean?" Raph asked in surprise.

"I mean that each of you will teach your sister certain skills that you excel at since not a _single_ one of you have truly mastered them all," He commanded. "And I am too old to be the sole teacher. It will be a learning experience for you all, it will teach you leadership along with discipline that is only learned through experience on the giving end, instead of receiving." I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and sniffed as I looked up at the circle around me.

"So, you're expecting us to do _all_ of this without any help whatsoever?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I will be here for mentorship for whenever any of you have questions or need advising, including you, my daughter," Splinter reassured and nodded at me with a soft smile. "But do not expect me to teach your part, it'll defeat the purpose."

"How much time do you think we'll have, Vee?" Leo asked as he crossed his arms and looked down at her.

"I-I am not sure," She sighed solemnly and glanced down at me with worried eyes. "It depends on how powerful the Mononoke becomes and how quickly he progresses, and I know that we will encounter him again before…" She paused and glanced around. "Before things begin to escalate, it is inevitable, but… A month? If that…? Things have already been set in motion and they will only gain speed."

Everybody stood in silence for a moment as we absorbed the new weight that had been put on everyone—my siblings will be thrust into a new world of teaching almost completely unprepared and I will be expected to learn and retain all of that information in a very short amount of time. It was daunting.

"No pressure…" Donnie breathed quietly as he stood glanced around blankly as the new task began to sink in and register. I could practically see the analog code flying by behind his eyes as his brain computed everything. "No pressure…"

 _Yeah,_ I thought with a heavy sigh. _No pressure._


	23. Chapter 22: Game Plan

Later that night, once Jessie was finally consoled and helped into bed, we all gathered around the kitchen table to hold our first teacher conference. "This really puts a vice on things…" I sighed and scratched the back of my head to start the conversation. Nobody wanted to talk. The atmosphere was heavy, and everyone was too dumbfounded and shocked at the developments that happened tonight. "Yes," Venus nodded as she crossed her arms and shook her head. "This… This is monumental and not necessarily in a good way." It was still silent but there were nods of agreement. Sure, it was nice to know that we were alone anymore, but the fact that this was possibly the Mononoke completely struck out all of the good. "Let's first figure out what exactly happened," Master Splinter said with a raised finger and looked at Mikey. "Michelangelo, what exactly happened at Mr. Ping's restaurant?" Our younger brother glanced around the circle nervously and pressed his lips together like he'd just been caught in the act of something he shouldn't have been doing. Which is technically what happened. "Where should I start?" He asked meekly. "From the beginning," Sensei said calmly. "You won't be punished for your actions; this situation outweighs the consequences of that." _He should be punished._ I thought with exasperated sigh. I was nudged in the arm and got a disapproving look from Venus, I'd gotten the same reaction from her before when I'd been upset with someone and was being a little too "overbearing", but he knew _better!_ He knew that Jessie wasn't supposed to go above ground until she'd _at least_ been taught some basic lessons on how to handle herself and stay safe at the same time. It was a default rule that he should've understood! _Never_ go above ground without letting at least _someone_ know where you are. "Well," Mike started and began to fiddle with his fingers and didn't look up from the table. "I was sitting in the living room watching TV when she came in after her meditation training with you, Venus," He glanced at her and then back at the table. "And said she was hungry. I don't blame her, she _had_ missed lunch after all, and said that she didn't want pizza or leftovers. I named off a few places where we could go and get food and eventually decided on sushi." "You _suggested_ going up for food? Mike—!" I yelled then was sharply cut off by Sensei's hand. "Continue." He said softly. "I figured that Mr. Ping was a good idea because of how accepting he is to us," He did have a point. Kaito _is_ so carefree that he probably welcomed her. "So that's who we went with. We took the sewers a majority of the way and then went up to the roofs a few blocks away from the shop. She was hesitant at first when it came to jumping the roofs, but I eventually convinced her that it wasn't that bad and that it was something that she'd have to learn soon anyways; the first jump was a little rocky, but the rest came a lot easier." I sighed and rolled my eyes impatiently, these were useless details that didn't pertain to the actual issue. "Then we got down from the building across from his shop, you know, the apartment building with the little decks, and crossed the street," He continued with a shrug as everyone else nodded and I crossed my arms and shifted my weight. "I went first, but she wasn't far behind. When she came in, I introduced her to Mr. Ping, he started up his usual conversation, we ordered, then went to the barstools and I explained to her how we met him. We got our food and that's when things started to go sideways…" He trailed off with a sigh as his face began to pale. This is what I was looking for. "W-we were probably halfway through eating when I noticed that she looked like she'd seen a ghost—her eyes were wide as saucers, she was pale, and was staring straight out the window and up at the apartment building's roof, I asked her what was wrong, and she said she sensed something evil. A-at first I didn't know what she meant then she told me to look across the street and I saw it…" He wavered as he glanced up at all of us warily, an expression that was very rare for out brother. "It was another mutant turtle, but it wasn't one of us. The silhouette wasn't any of yours—I didn't recognize it. He was probably 6'7", easy, and was as muscled as Raph but proportioned like Leo—all chest. He's _huge."_ He looked in between the two of us as I glanced at Raph who was surprised. He knew that he was the largest of all of us but was clearly shocked that he was now out-done. I then disregarded the chest statement because now wasn't the time to get offended. "We then immediately left through the back door and into the sewers, Jessie was nearly hysterical the whole time." "If this guy is as big as you say he is," I began and pressed my lips with a sigh. "He is someone to be reckoned with, whether or not he knows how to fight." "It sounds like this individual is a calculated creation," Donnie said as he put his hand on his chin and began to pace around the table, something he often did when he would begin to really ponder something. "Unlike us, he was no accident. Jessie said that his shell was almost _perfectly_ shaped, ours, however, are relatively standard for our condition, although our condition is far from standard," He shrugged as he continued to talk and stare at the floor. "They are not perfect. Couple this with the muscle mass and stature that you both consistently described, this individual is _very_ carefully calculated and planned. Someone is behind his existence." He stopped and looked up at us with worried eyes. "I believe it is more than just one person," Venus said with a deep breath and looked around the circle. "Both magic and science are behind this creature. The Mononoke Yokai had to be introduced into the vessel from an outside source—this can be accidental, but a majority of the time is not—and this, as Donnie has already explained, is not a natural vessel." She then traced a circle on the table with her finger. "This leads to the next question, who has access to both of these?" The room was silent. We all knew who had the connections and funds to pull such a feat and we knew that this only made things worse, but none of us wanted to say it. It was almost like if none of us said it, it wouldn't be true. Almost a denial tactic. "The Foot." Master Splinter said solemnly in a soft tone. Sighs of anger, fear, exasperation, and the weight of this circumstance were let out from everyone as we shifted anxiously. _"_ _Shit."_ Raph hissed quietly as he shook his head and looked down at the ground angrily. "Alright," I said after a moment and placed my hands on my hips, looked down at the floor and sniffed. "This doesn't change much." "This changes _everything,_ Leo!" Raph exclaimed angrily. "Does it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "As far as we know, this doesn't move the deadline, whenever that is, any closer, it doesn't change the fact that we have a huge amount of work ahead of us, and it doesn't necessarily completely change what we teach her." I explained, my brother didn't reply except for give me a nasty look. "But it does give us a more focused motif and knowledge of what to expect, if anything, this is a good thing. We _know_ how the Foot fights, we _know_ their strategies and tactics, we _know_ what to _specifically_ prepare for. This takes the situation from a guessing game of wild cards and uncertainty to a more predictable playing field that we are familiar with." "But this changes the topography of the field, they have a new player who we know next to nothing about." Donnie interjected. "That may be true, but what are the odds that he's just going to come at us _alone?_ The Foot is a _militarized_ crime organization, they're an army. We have fought that army before and we know how they operate, he may be a new variable, but that doesn't mean that it changes everything." "That's not how math works." He mumbled. "Look," I leaned on the table as I shook my head at Donnie's annoying instinct to _always_ be politically correct. "What I'm trying to say is, don't let this intimidate you. We can do this. It's just another clue to add to solving this mystery." "Leonardo has made a good point," Sensei nodded. "Yes, it is a shocking and intimidating development, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible to succeed. Have faith my children, you underestimate yourselves." He reassured, leaving everyone else in silence as they processed everything. "Now, on to what you will teach Jessie." He cleared his throat and straightened the collar of his robe. "As I have told you before, you will teach skills that you excel in. Venus, you will be in charge of her Onmyodo and flexibility training, your limberness exceeds your brothers', use this as breaks in between meditations. Leonardo, you will give her the foundation for her to build her skills off of, which includes drills, different fighting styles, which may be a shared responsibility since each of you have your own unique style," He said as a side note and pointed around the circle. "Attacks, stealth, proper jumps and landings, and strategical training. You will continue to work at pace with your brothers and hone and build off of their teachings as well. When she as progressed enough to begin weapons training, you will tutor her in the katana, but do not _force_ it upon her, let her choose her own weapon." "Hai, Sensei." I bowed in acknowledgement while hiding excitement. Being a legitimate sensei has always been a dream of mine that I'll finally be able to live out, although the circumstances aren't exactly the ones that I had dreamed of… "Raphael, you will be in charge of hand-to-hand combat, since that is your preferred choice of fighting, opponent debilitation, kick boxing, and weight training. Now, just remember that she does _not_ have the muscle mass and strength that you have, so make sure you start her easy and push her only enough to keep her motivated and not to the point of breaking, so have some grace and patience with her." Raph grinned at his assignment, he was the most aggressive out of us, so the more physical, the better. "Donatello, you will condition her. Stamina and endurance are important along with coordination, even though that can also be a shared skill, you will specifically focus on combat multitasking, teaching how to use the environment, and basic bo training. She will be trained in several weapons even though she may choose a specific alternative, it is always good to have a variety of skills in many different disciplines instead few of a very specific one." Donnie nodded quietly. It made sense that he was in charge of conditioning, he was the track star—he can easily out run and out last any of us and it's all thanks to his long legs and lean build. "Michelangelo, you will teach her the throwing weapons—kunai, shuriken, and darts—how to accurately use them. You may also teach her specific weapon, if she chooses what I have in mind for her, as it is relatively similar to nunchucks. All of you will run team mission drills to practice stealth and teamwork." Mikey in turn smiled and did a small fist-pump in response. "As for my role, I will be here for mentoring, questions, and guidance, I will also observe what and how you instruct, so do not go off and abuse your new authority, but I have a feeling that Jessie will be able to keep _you_ in check." He raised an eyebrow at us with a slight grin. "You're training starts tomorrow." He said and walked away from the table, leaving us all standing there in silence. "Whelp," I clapped my hands together after a moment to break the awkward silence. "See you guys in the morning. We got this." 


	24. Chapter 23: Disaster Analysis

After our meeting concluded, I slowly made my way back to my room, not just out of exhaustion, but also because I was analyzing everything that had just happened. A few things did not add up—Jessie was able to sense the Mononoke's Seishin from several _hundred_ feet away _without_ even laying eyes on him, that is a skill that is more advanced than what I had originally planned to teach her within her first two weeks of training. The skill to sense another entity that is not within immediately proximity is something that has to be taught, it is never something that comes _naturally._ But if that Seishin is as strong as what it has been alluded to, then it would be impossible to ignore… Either he is more powerful than what I originally anticipated, or _she_ is more powerful than what I expected, or it is both. If what Jessie was able to sense reflects how strong she is, then a significant portion of her strength training will be unneeded, but it would have to be replaced with training on how to control it—only tomorrow will hold that answer.

When I finally got to my room, I headed straight for the meditation dojo. This was something that had to be more than just pondered. This was something that required counsel.

I lit a Seishin candle, closed my eyes, and, with a deep and much needed sigh, immediately slipped into the Universal Common. I cleared my mind and took a few deep breaths to try to calm my nerves before I opened my eyes.

"Mei Pieh Chi," The deep and familiar voice said calmly. "What is on your heart, my child?"

"Sensei," I sighed and opened my eyes and looked up at the glowing aura of my father against the starry sky. "Masters," I nodded and knelt to the watery surface of my consciousness as three more figures faded into existence next to him. "As you know, the Ayakashi has been found."

"Yes, and you have done excellently—your sight did not fail you; well done." Master Fa said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Master," I said with a small bow. "But, that is not why I am seeking your presence. Something happened tonight… And I am not sure what it was… I-I mean, I _think_ I know what it was, but just because I think it is something doesn't mean that it _is—"_

"Mei," Master Ling said sternly with a raised hand, severing the stream of thoughts that had begun to overrun my mind. "Breathe, gather your thoughts, speak your mind once you have them together."

"Hai." I breathed and lowered my head as I placed everything in order and brought myself together. "Tonight," I started again and looked up at the five masters. "Jessie encountered a being that we believe to be the Mononoke. She and Michelangelo were at Mr. Ping's restaurant when she _sensed_ him, he was not in the building, but on the other side of the street, several hundred feet away. Only today have I introduced her to the Universal Common and the basic concept of Seishin outside of simple explanation. She should not be able to do that."

"No, she should not…" Sensei said with a puzzled expression on his face. "This can be an indicator to many things."

"She could have imagined it." Master Cheng spat. "A young mind can often overexaggerate when frightened."

"This was no figment of the imagination, she came home in hysteria and paranoia. Her reaction was not caused by an overactive imagination." I said assertively. "It was genuine."

"Then what she saw was real." Master Fa said solemnly as he stroked his long white beard.

"She should not be able to sense something from that far away yet!" Master Cheng exclaimed. _"No one_ has ever been able to do that with so little training, they should not be able to!"

"No one as of _yet."_ Sensei said with a sideways glance towards Cheng. "No other prophecy or omen like this has ever been studied, taught, or muttered, so everything that is happening is completely new to Onmyodo. This prophecy is the only one of its kind, even if others have claimed to be like it, and thusly will have occurrences that are strictly unique to it."

"Master Li has a valid argument Cheng, do not be so closed minded." Master Ling said quietly. Master Cheng crossed her arms across her chest with a huff and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Fa, what are your thoughts?"

"If what the Ayakashi claims is true, then they are two _very_ powerful Yokai and are formidable. The Mononoke is an ancient Yokai that has been undetected for millennia, it has gained power from what would be considered small excursions in comparison to this and has knowledge of its power whereas the Ayakashi does not. But that does not mean that her Seishin is new in fact…" Fa trailed off as he began to ponder.

"Hers is even older." Ling finished the thought with wide eyes. "It _has_ to be!"

"No, that spirit has been gone for far too long," Cheng shook her head and swiped her hand across her body, but her face said that it made sense and she did not want to believe it. "It is impossible. It has been dead for centuries."

"It has never been confirmed," Sensei said. "Yes, many Yokai and spirits have died because they have been dormant for far too long, but there have been few that have survived on nothing but their _own_ Seishin. The Ancients are examples of that."

"Th-that is different, they are literally the cosmos, if they die, then so does everything else." Cheng said shakily. "But that does not mean that there are not others like them. Yes, weaker than them because nothing is more powerful, but stronger than any other spirit recorded. You know _exactly_ what I am speaking of." Fa pointed at her as she avoided eye contact.

"I am sorry Masters, but what are you referencing?" I asked in confusion.

"Mei Pieh, we are referencing the great Ryūjin, the Dragon King…" Sensei panted out. "He has come back."

"Ryūjin? But that is only myth, h-how can I train a _myth?"_ My emotions began to overtake me again as I began to panic. This was the mystical creatures of _all_ mystical creatures—the most powerful and ancient of all Yokai—and _I_ am supposed to mentor it?

"Mei, my daughter," Father said reassuringly. "If there were anyone in this reality that I would trust with such a task, it would be you. You are a strong-willed individual who is steady in her practices, you are smart and will be an excellent sensei to the young Ayakashi. Have faith in yourself and what you are embarking on, the Great Dragon has attached himself to Jessie, he is not her and she is not he, but that does not mean that one cannot influence the other. Ryūjin knows what he is capable of and will help guide her along side you." I looked up at him, his faint image now blurry from my tears.

"She does not know anything of her power yet, it is raw and untapped, Ryūjin has given her this power to learn and mold by herself, he will not be anything but a simple crutch to help steady her, you must teach her how to walk and use it. If you are strong, she will be strong. Remember, child, you are not alone in this great journey, you have a god to assist you." Master Ling said.

"What about the Mononoke? I-if _Ryūjin_ is back because of this evil spirit, then _he_ has to be more powerful than I can even predict. _How can I prepare her for this?_ It will be a war of gods!" I stuttered.

"The Mononoke's developments are out of your control, you cannot determine how it will react and grow." Master Cheng said solemnly. "The best you can do is be prepared to the best of both of your abilities. Do all that you can."

"But what if all that I can is not enough?"

"Daughter, _have faith._ Like we said, Ryūjin will help along the way, your teachings will be reinforced by the nature of his Seishin, you are more than enough." Father said with a smile as he reached out to touch my face, and just as his wispy fingers reached my cheek, he faded away with the masters and I was left alone in the Universal Common with a view of the night sky and my quiet, little pond.


End file.
